ChinatownA bus stops on College Boulevard and passengers get off. Cars speed through the streets while I stand perfectly still on the corner eagerly trying to absorb the smells, sights and sounds. The green hand-shaped light appears and I proceed to cross the street with a growing sense of discovery. There were signs everywhere; mostly in Chinese characters. Some signs in English read: Dim Sum Lunch $3.50, English books on Chinese herbs, China Kung Fu Acupuncture Treatment Center and Chinatown 2002. Watching people walking along the sidewalks, restaurants, bakeries, auto repair shops and bookstores, it makes me have the distinct impression that this is a place of great importance in almost every context imaginable. What saddens me is that I also understand how ill-equipped I am to understand the extent of its importance. In an effort to gain a rudimentary understanding of what Chinatown represents from a cultural, social, political and historical context, we will examine the historical context of the area, basic geographic data, the contemporary situation and some of the major issues facing this community . Chinatown first began in an area known as Sonoratown, where the infamous Callae de los Negros street (named after the dark deeds committed there and the people who committed them) was located. By 1870, an estimated 200 Chinese laborers, servants, road builders, and small shopkeepers shared the block located near El Pueblo Square with gamblers, vagrants, and outlaws. (Rasmussen: 4). Despite their important contributions to Southern California's economy, Chinese communities faced anti-Chinese legislation and...... middle of paper ...... and a rich cultural tradition. Bibliography "Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." Retrieved October 6, 2002.http://www.camlas.org/history.htm.Hamilton, Densise. “Immigration and Harassment Service: How the INS mistreatsRefugees.” Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2002. “Map of Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles.” Retrieved October 6, 2002.http://www.csun.edu/~hbgeg069/LA/chinatown.html.Marquez, Sandra. “California immigrants thrive where little English is spoken.” The Associated Press & Local Wire August 30, 2002. Cecilia. “Violence, the Evolution of Bias Mark Chinatown.” Los Angeles Times. November 25, 2001, Home ed.: Page 4.Yu, George "Open-Air Shelter Would Damage Chinatown." Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2001, Home ed.: Page 10.