Fall of the I-Hotel

We watched the movie "Fall of the I-Hotel" in class. In the early 1900s, The I-Hotel, or International Hotel, was where low-income minority immigrants stayed. The elderly Filipino immiogrants were affectionately called "Manongs." Rent was cheap and friends lived within walking distance, so it was the perfect place to stay. The I-Hotel was located in the heart of Manilatown on Jackson and Kearny Streets. Manilatown expanded all along Kearny Street for about 10 blocks, but was reduced to just one when the rent raised from 700 to 2500 dollars. Tenants played pool at Lucky M, and the barbershop was not only a place to get a haircut, but also a hangout place. Later on, disastrous news hit tenants of the I-Hotel; the I-Hotel was going to be bulldozed and turned into a parking lot, and everyone was going to be evicted without a place to stay. The tenants have lived in the hotel for more than 50 years and moving away from the place they call home to somewhere else where they might be discriminated against was a horrible thought. They did everything they could to try and save it, even if it meant risking their own lives in the process. Their futures seem so grim that dying for something they believe in was better than submitting and just moving. Three days before the signing of the contract, a fire was set in the I-Hotel, killing three tenants. Violence was not a part of the deal, so this upset even the owner of the I-Hotel. Asian Americans from everywhere bound together to fight for the future of the I-Hotel, which was a symbol of acceptance and Asian American culture of the time. The created a human barricade , risking their lives for something they believed in. They were kicked, beated, and thrown in jail. When the strike ended, the Asian Americans lost their culture and the togetherness that was always a big thing for them. They disbanded to different parts of the city, but at least they fought for what was right. Asian Americans who were usually silent are not anymore.