History Archives

June 24, 2023 0

Juneteenth: A Time for America to Celebrate and Repair

Editor’s Note: Monday, June 19th marked the third annual Massachusetts recognition of Juneteenth as a national and state holiday. This year, only 28 states and the District of Columbia will legally recognize it as a public holiday. In Montana, Arizona, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Vermont, New Hampshire, Alaska and Hawaii it remained unrecognized as a permanent holiday. Juneteenth is a floating holiday in California, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, with some state government workers […]

June 24, 2023 0

The Anticipation of an Executive Apology to Chinese Americans for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

by Alina Chaudhri

With Biden’s presidency still having another year and a half to go, there are many possibilities for change in policy and public statements. Although he has not lifted the confiscation of visas that would be given to Chinese students with pasts in Chinese military involvements, the President’s positive endeavors at improving the immigration system support an executive apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act being in line with the President’s values and goals. With the legislative branch having already apologized for […]

August 21, 2022 0

Sharing Mooncakes and Love at Mid-Autumn Festival

by Max Wei

There are different shapes of mooncakes with different stuffings and skins. Usually, the skin is made of wheat powder, but now there are also ice skins made of sticky rice powder. The stuffing of mooncakes varies depending on the cities and provinces: Beijing style, Jiangsu style, Ningbo style, Shanghai style, Hong Kong style. In northern and southern China, the stuffing of the mooncakes is usually sweet, made of ingredients like sugar, red beans, and lotus seed. In the middle region, […]

August 19, 2022 0

Mid-autumn Festival: From Fairytale to History

by Yang Yang

Chinese who live abroad tend to have deeper attachment to the traditions than those who still live and breathe on the Chinese soil. If you ask someone like me, who belongs to the latter group, about Mid-Autumn Festival, I can only share a very limited knowledge beyond a fairytale which all Chinese children will remember. Fairytale origins Before all the dynasties, there were 10 suns in the sky scorching the earth and killing all inhabitants (consider it an ancient version […]

July 24, 2022 0

American Legion Boston Chinatown Post 328: Continuing to honor Chinese-American Veterans

by Eric Youshao

“Post 328 is a living memorial to all the veterans, both Asian American and not, who have come from the Boston community and served America with honor and distinction.” -Post Commander Matthew Seto. Boston Chinatown’s Post 328 has advocated on behalf of veterans, service members, and the local community for more than 75 years. Founded after World War II, Post 328 originally helped negotiate benefits for veterans and their families, helping many take advantage of the GI Bill of Rights, […]

June 17, 2022 0

Great Replacement Theory: How racist ideology is fueling hate and fear and mass shootings

by Sampan Staff

On May 14, 2022, an 18 year old male traveled four hours to a supermarket in a predominantly African neighborhood and killed ten people. We all want to know the reason, the motive. . No matter how repellent, if a suspected killer leaves 180 pages in the wake of his killings, they must be read to find the answers. Will we find the reasons for the other mass shootings? However much we might want to move beyond these mass shootings […]

June 17, 2022 0

Pride Month 2022 is powered by hard work and commitment

by Sampan Staff

Asian communities around the world are celebrating Pride Month and opening new space for every expression. Pride Month has grown considerably since the early days after the 1969 Stonewall Riots. The Riots gave rise to the Gay Rights Movement. NAAAP Boston has scheduled many events for Pride Month.. Beginning with different perspectives, NAAAP Boston released a collection of first-person narratives coined the “Coming Out Collection”. Honoring Coming Out Day (October 11), each narrative shares a different story about the journey […]

June 17, 2022 0

The Second Juneteenth Holiday in Massachusetts: What does it mean to the general public?

by Max Wei

Sunday, June 19, 2022, will be the second annual Juneteenth Independence Day recognized as a Massachusetts state holiday. On Thursday June 17, 2021, the Juneteenth Day became a federal holiday in the United States when President Joe Biden signed into law a bill passed by Congress. Almost at the same time, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker also officially recognized June 19 as the newest state-recognized holiday. Juneteenth National Independence Day is important to African American in our nation because of the […]

May 24, 2022 0

Chinese Laundry: Personal Stories of Pride and Perseverance

by Chelsea Wang

For first-wave Chinese immigrants in the mid-1800’s, laundries were a primary source of income and a significant part of Chinese-American labor history. Along with construction of the railroads, the laundry business was a mainstay of the Chinese immigrant economy. The Chinese needed to survive in an English-speaking world in which they did not have access to most employment opportunities. The laundries remain a point of shared connection between many Chinese American families today. Thomas Chin’s family worked in their hand […]

May 6, 2022 0

Mother is a verb

by Sampan Staff

Go back to 1870 and read suffragette Julia Ward Howe’s manifesto “The Mother’s Day Proclamation.” It’s an audacious and revolutionary piece of writing that resonates equally with her more popular effort, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” While the Hymn to our Republic has been her primary legacy, its use as both a malevolent threat and inspiring ode to perseverance has weakened its importance. “The Mother’s Day Proclamation” is thrilling, even after 152 years: “Our sons shall not be taken […]

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