Denver Honors Chinatown & Those Lost In 1880 Race Riot

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared Oct. 31 as Denver's Chinatown Commemoration Day. It's an effort to recognize lives lost 140 years ago on this date.

In 1880, in what is now known as LoDo, a fight broke out between two Chinese men and a group of White men. It escalated into Denver's first race riot.

With only a small plaque incorrectly commemorating the tragic event at 20th and Blake Streets, the mayor made the proclamation to honor and celebrate the resilient and thriving Chinese community that exists in Denver now.

"Each successive wave of immigrants have come for a better life and has faced a lot of adversity and challenges and i think that's what we want to remind people. we're apart f the building of this city," said Gil Asakawa, a spokesman for the Denver Asian American Pacific Islander Commission.

The hope is to eventually get the plaque fixed and to create a bigger memorial.