Hello, ‘Little Ethiopia’: Clark County gets first cultural district

It’s official: “Little Ethiopia” on Tuesday became Clark County’s first cultural district.

“Thank you,” project chair Girma Zaid said repeatedly and bowed after county commissioners voted on a resolution to formalize the district.

The designation “will help preserve and celebrate the culture, commerce, food, celebrations, and religion of an estimated Forty Thousand Ethiopian immigrants who have made Clark County their home,” the resolution reads.

The proclamation arrived nearly four years after efforts kicked off to declare the area — located between Twain and University avenues, near Decatur Boulevard — a cultural strip most common in cities like Los Angeles and New York City.

Formal efforts to create the district, pushed by Commissioner Justin Jones, began in the summer of 2019.

Since then, county staff developed a policy and the project leaders presented their vision in town board meetings, also sending hundreds of notices.

Proponents hope that the procedures serve as an outline for future cultural districts.

There are more than 50 Ethiopian businesses within Clark County, including at least 17 restaurants. A large concentration of them fall within the district.

After pandemic-related delays, the project cleared a major hurdle in May, when commissioners voted unanimously to approve the application.

The slow process helped the corridor’s designation because officials were able to capture “the enormity of value you bring to our community,” Commission Chair Jim Gibson said at the time.

Zaid and about a dozen others stood and clapped after the vote. A few carried U.S. and Ethiopian flags with which the group posed for photos outside the Clark County Government Center.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.