HISTORY

While it is known for being the highest concentration of Cambodians in the United States, Cambodia Town is also home to a diverse community of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian folks.

In 2018, over a dozen small businesses in Poly and East Anaheim Plazas received the notice of demolition and redevelopment. KH Market took to social media and started an online petition that received over 9,000 signatures. As a result of the community's decisive action, the City of Long Beach delayed approvals of the redevelopment project until the developer engaged with the affected businesses.

The Anaheim Atlantic Development Working [AADW] group formed from several small businesses and they hosted a community forum on February 27th, 2019 at Gamboa Theater located within Cambodia Town's MacArthur Park. The AADW group has since transformed into the Cambodia Town Thrives collaborative.

The Black Panthers, VIP Records, and NAACP were all located within Eastside Long Beach. This region was predominantly occupied by Black residents due to restrictive covenants, redlining, and Proposition 14 of 1964. Black organizing called for refugee entry, which eventually led to the legislative pass of both the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 and the Refugee Act of 1980. These laws were important in helping Cambodian refugees migrate and settle in Long Beach.

In 1968, Latino students from Polytechnic High School protested the lack of ethnic education in their curriculum. Many of these students continued their advocacy work at CSULB to help initiate the creation of one of the first Chicano Studies Departments in the United States.

The War in Southeast Asia, the Khmer Rouge, and Killing Fields in Cambodia forced many Cambodians to migrate to Long Beach in hopes to find an opportunity to rebuild their lives and community. Due to ongoing organizing efforts of Cambodia Town Inc. and Midtown Business Improvement District, in collaboration with Councilmember Dee Andrews, the East Anaheim Street corridor was officially designated as Cambodia Town on July 3rd, 2007.