Race in the City of Destiny: Oral Histories of Tacoma
Located on the land of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Tacoma is the third largest city in Washington state and one of the most influential cities in the state’s modern history. Beginning with Indigenous peoples and Euro-American migrants, race has been a crucial lens to analyze the city’s development and identity. While no one project could capture the breadth of the topic, this oral history project looks to catalog some of the ways in which race has shaped the modern history of Tacoma. In particular, the project looks at three case studies: the memorialization of the city’s original Chinese-American population (“Tacoma Method”), a historically diverse neighborhood undergoing rapid change (“Hilltop”), and the recent history of one of the region’s largest immigrant detention centers (“NWDC”).
Select Interviews
Kay Littles
A business owner and organizer on the Hilltop, Kay Littles moved to Tacoma as a child during the 1940s. This interview covers the mid-century history of Tacoma’s Black community, redlining, and the more recent influence of gentrification and development on the Hilltop.
Lotus Perry
Lotus Perry is an Asian Studies Professor and long-term board member of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation (CRPF). In this interview, Lotus discusses her upbringing in Taiwan, her work with the CRPF, and how the CRPF has navigated the tumult of 2020.
Maru Mora Villalpando
Maru Mora Villalpando is an organizer and leader of La Resistencia, a local immigrant rights group that works in concert with detained people and their families. In this interview, Maru discusses the obstacles facing detained people at the NWDC and the various ways that La Resistencia attempts to support them.