JACL-DC board member David Inoue, a former member of the Ward 7E Advisory Neighborhood Commission, just published this Washington Post editorial following on D.C. Council member Marion Barry’s comment that Asian business owners should close their “dirty shops.”
Arguing for a balanced, thoughtful approach to the easily incendiary topic, Inoue’s observations include this one, of an Asian-owned business in Southeast and the relationship that has grown with the community:
Responding to community concerns, Thai Orchid chose not to put up bulletproof glass to separate the owners from customers. When the restaurant was robbed at gunpoint not long after opening, many Ward 7 residents responded by coming out to the restaurant for a dinner of solidarity. That dinner has since turned into a monthly gathering.
Check out Inoue’s full article, “Building Bridges That Barry’s Rhetoric Can’t Burn Down.”
JACL DC 