Chinatown: 9/11 and the End of an Industry

Join the Tenement Museum for a discussion of the impact of September 11th on Chinatown and its families, broadcast from inside one of our historic tenement building. In the 1990s, Chinese immigrant women working in Lower Manhattan’s garment industry powered a major sector of the nation’s clothing production. In the aftermath of 9/11, this pillar of Chinatown’s economy came to a halt, and over a century of garment work in Lower Manhattan effectively ended.

 

This conversation will take place inside a recreated garment factory that explores this history through one family, the Wongs, featured on our Under One Roof tour. Livestreamed to YouTube, the program will be hosted by scholar Margaret Chin and former ILGWU 23-25 Union Vice President May Chen with Tenement Museum President Dr. Annie Polland as they reflect on this pivotal moment in the garment industry and its legacy.