By Vy Nguyen and Elena Arakaki
NAP Contributors
The corner of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in Seattle, Washington is home – but the people who have called it home have changed over the decades. On the northeast corner, a marker commemorates how this part of Seattle was once a hub for Black Seattle where jazz clubs opened their doors to everyone. This was a time when redlining and sundown laws enshrined segregation by race in much of the city. Some of us have spoken to elders who know the neighborhood as “Indian Country” and remember what it was like before the Interstate-5 highway tore it apart.
During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and using Executive Order 9066, decimated the Japanese American community that once lived here.
Displacement, under investment, and neglect have been the common story of these blocks of Seattle, in large part because of those who have called this place home. It has always tended to be the most marginalized and precarious communities in the city.
Crosswalk at 12th Ave. S. & S. Jackson St. in the heart of the Little Saigon neighborhood in Seattle. Photo credit: Friends of Little Saigon.
Today, the Vietnamese-American community is the latest diaspora making the area around 12th and Jackson home. Like the communities before, it does not take much to see the pattern of under investment and neglect repeating itself. Local media cannot help but to use Little Saigon in an annual puff piece to fire up the fear machine before elections to remind voters that it is time to renew the City’s “law and order” commitment. It is to give us unimaginative, one-dimensional public safety goals that rarely achieve the “compassion” our city claims to value.
The visible neglect of Little Saigon is hard to look at and harder to change, yet Friends of Little Saigon (FLS) is seeking to do exactly that. FLS recently launched “Phố Đẹp” (Beautiful Neighborhood), an inclusive framework for public safety that started with visioning meetings and outreach to the community, small businesses, residents, and local organizations to foster long-term change through placemaking and place-based solutions.
After a year of collecting data and anecdotes, FLS launched the “Little Saigon Safety Plan” at a community kick-off in February 2025. The meeting brought together local government partners into the room with small businesses, residents, and community organizations to take shared ownership of this safety plan. Some of the actionable steps include coordinating social service providers to better support people who are struggling with homelessness and addiction, increasing lighting and public art in Hoa Mai Park, advocating for more frequent neighborhood trash pickups, and creating a Little Saigon business coalition.
A group of community members have committed to accomplishing small steps in the near term, also called the “100 Day Challenge.” Over the next two and a half years, the rest of the actions identified by the Little Saigon Safety Plan will be executed by community stakeholders to cultivate safety and vibrancy in Little Saigon.
This is not work that will be simple or have easy solutions; it will require ongoing and long-term commitments, advocacy, and a bigger imagination for what will help this community thrive and be safe.
We will prioritize a housing-first ethos for unhoused neighbors, appropriate services for people experiencing substance-use disorder and physical environment improvements like lighting. It will improve cleanliness to enhance safety for pedestrians and residents, and grow neighborhood activation to bring more people to the neighborhood. This requires investments in building the capacity of the neighborhood and its people, and partnerships with our local government.
For diaspora like the Vietnamese/Vietnamese American community, the feeling of home and the feeling of safety has been sought for generations. April 30th marked the fall of Saigon, this year being the 50th anniversary of the historic event that caused two million people to flee an authoritarian government. This was the precursor to many families arriving in the Pacific Northwest and carving out the area around 12th and Jackson as a cultural home. It is a place where the community can shop, gather, worship, and celebrate. It is where special ingredients can be found to recreate cherished dishes.
Despite the struggles and challenges, Little Saigon is a place with vibrancy and meaning for many Vietnamese-Americans and the AANHPI (Asian American Native Hawaiian PacificIslander) community. This is where culture makers are creating third spaces like the Little Saigon Creative. Block Party by Drag & Drop Creative is developing new ways to celebrate Vietnamese and broader AAHPI culture and identities.Neighborhood businesses like the James Beard Award® nominated Boat Restaurant is cementing Vietnamese cuisine as among the best in the world and making the neighborhood a dining destination for the region.
These are all things that are making this neighborhood safer and more vibrant, but there is more work to be done. Ongoing commitments of resources are needed – not just for the Vietnamese community, but also to adequately fund the services and systems assisting those struggling with homelessness and/or addiction. Allies are needed to support the Phố Đẹp work and to frequent Little Saigon events and businesses year-round. Come see the magic, innovation, and love experienced in the neighborhood for themselves, because this is a home worth fighting for.
Follow Friends of Little Saigon (Facebook, Instagram) and subscribe to the newsletter to get updates on the neighborhood, its work, or to learn more about the businesses and events in Little Saigon: https://flsseattle.org/get-involved/.
