For those wondering about the state of mind of the opponents of the Sixers’ arena after City Council gave its approval to the proposal on Dec. 19, over a dozen Philadelphians out on a cold Christmas Day afternoon offered some insight.
Standing next to the Chinatown Arch, they sang a song set to the tune of “I Have a Little Dreidel,” with the lyrics rewritten to be a protest song:
Arena, ‘rena, ‘rena / It isn’t any good
Arena, ‘rena, ‘rena / Displace the neighborhood
I do not care who wants it / It matters not to me
I have no sense of morals / Or accountability
Arena, ‘rena, ‘rena / I know it isn’t fair
But when you are a billionaire / You do not have to care.
The people are against it / The businesses are, too
The future of this neighborhood / Is up to me and you.
The holiday carolers were there as part of No Arena in Chinatown Solidarity (NACS), gathered for the first night of Hanukkah to sing and light a candle on a menorah.
They sang songs rewritten by anti-arena advocates as part of the “Chinatown Is Here To Stay” songbook, some of which have also been performed by the No Arena Flash Choir outside City Hall, where some members were removed from Council hearings for singing their testimony.
Other songs sung included a version of “Havah Nagilah” retitled “Have A Nice Egg Roll,” a song called “Oh, Listen Up Developers” set to the tune of “Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah,” and “L’Chaim All You Good Folk” set to the melody of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
NACS was formed in 2021 by Jewish Philadelphians to stand in solidarity with the Chinatown community and against predatory development. It has since grown to be an interfaith coalition.
“Chinatown solidarity Christmas caroling is one of my favorite NACS traditions. Over the last three years, it has taken a different shape each time, and that is a joy: a reminder of how cultural traditions can get started and adopted and grown and renewed,” said organizer Debora Kodish.
Kodish, who lives in West Philly, noted that “music and singing together and parody songs have been a part of the movement since the very outset, with a protest against Sixers part-owner and CEO of Campus Apartments David Adelman’s appearance at the Jewish Federal Real Estate “Legends and Leaders” breakfast.
“‘Shonda’ and ‘Goniff’ were what we sang back then and I am proud that people were there this Christmas Day to say that these words — ‘shame’ and ‘thievery’ — are still the case,” Kodish said.
Between songs, Rabbi Linda Holtzman, who has led several congregations in Philly and co-founded POWER Interfaith, led a blessing and menorah lighting for the first night of Hanukkah, which fell on Christmas Day for the first time in 19 years.
“While they are very different holidays — a celebration of Jesus and a brand new way of seeing the world versus a celebration of fighting against empire — it is the same because we are fighting for the light. We are here to shed light,” Holtzman said.
“To shed light on greed that has led people to [endanger] a neighborhood we all love. The idea of building an arena here is horrific,” she added. “This deal is a horrible deal for the city. The money [Mayor Cherelle Parker] promised is not going anywhere … Even though the City Council approved it, we will not give up because the light within us is great. We will not stop shedding light on the truth. There is no hiding. Together, we have more power than apart.”
“It’s not just Chinatown, but all of Philly”
The recurring message of the afternoon was that the planned Sixers arena would negatively impact all Philadelphians, not just residents of Chinatown.
“The arena is a bad deal for all of Philadelphia. But the developers don’t care about Philadelphia; only about money. City Council pretends to care, but in the end, they don’t, especially [City Councilmember] Mark Squilla,” said Wei Chen, civic engagement director with Asian Americans United.
“The last couple of weeks have been very hard. When I immigrated to Philadelphia at 15, I lived in South Philly, but Chinatown became very important to feeling home and hope again. This fight shows people that Chinatown culture and community still exist. A culture of resistance. We are fighting for the future of the next generation.”
West Philly lawyer Art Read concurred, saying, “It’s not just Chinatown, but all of Philly.”
“An arena can be constructed in a much less destructive way,” Read said. “The streets are narrow and the years of construction will be hard, not just on people in Chinatown, but in Philly. There are lots of failed construction projects.”
“For me, one of the most painful pieces is the division of communities,” he continued. “At Council hearings, I saw lots of construction workers who have been told it’s for jobs [and, thus, the opposition is against their jobs]. This intentional effort to divide …”
“… It’s divide and conquer,” chimed in Read’s wife, Cindy Rosenthal.
“I represented mushroom workers in Chester County, and Chinatown, AAU, and monks were supporters of our strike,” Read continued. “There’s a long history of support from politically progressive groups in the Asian American community for workers rights. There are lots of people in the Jewish community who recognize that an injury to one is an injury to all.”
This shared solidarity goes back over a century, emphasized Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture, an activist with the Philadelphia Tenants Union, which has also protested for affordable housing in Philly and against the destruction of UC Townhomes.
“Next month is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and we should remember that the history of solidarity between people of African American and Asian American descent goes back over 100 years,” said Nkrumah-Ture, citing several historical examples, including Frederick Douglass’ 1869 speech against the Chinese Exclusion Act and the activism of Yuri (Mary) Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs.
“Black Philly 4 Chinatown knows we all need to stick together. Silly people ask why we are in solidarity. But we know we have a long history of solidarity,” she said. “Don’t let anybody tell you that this history doesn’t exist. We will stand with Chinatown every step of the way.”
As the caroling finished, Rabbi Holtzman held a battery-operated menorah aloft and a Chinatown advocate held their cellphone flashlight behind the center candle as the menorah’s batteries weren’t working. Then, Holtzman commenced with two blessings in Hebrew.
The crowd took the technical difficulty in stride, seeing the collaboration as a metaphor.
“Imagine the first light because the batteries are not working, but we have power within,” Holtzman said. “Light reminds us of the great light in our traditions that brought us here today.”
