This is at once a specific story —one day in Boston Chinatown during the lunar new year parade — and an expansive one, which has played out time and time again in cities around the world. This is a story about colors, red fabric draped over a dancer’s back, golden sequins that catch the light, yellow fur in the lion’s mane, the whites of its eyes. This is a story about sound, the bright crash of red tasseled cymbals, the […]
A red snake with gold “scales” is winding through the walls of the Pao Arts Center in Chinatown as part of a celebration of the Lunar New Year. “We invited people to come and cut out scales from a gold shimmery paper, and then we prompted them to write or draw their Lunar New Year wish,” said artist Amanda Beard Garcia, who painted the indoor mural over several days in January. “Some people made one wish and a few people […]
With additional reporting by Harmony Witte and D.Y. Photo by Witte. In the spring of 2024, students at colleges all over Greater Boston called out what they viewed as a campaign of genocide in Gaza. The students objected to the U.S. paying for much of Israel’s military expenses. They protested their universities’ ties with U.S. companies who build the weapons and fighter jets used by Israeli forces, by calling for divestment and boycott. And they marched against Israel for dropping […]
Tax season, regardless of the year, is both confusing and stressful. This can lead to some families putting off their taxes, incurring needless fees and penalties. However, tax season is also an opportunity for families to claim a number of tax credits that can be highly beneficial to them. A common misconception is that individuals don’t believe they have earned enough income to be eligible for tax credits. The reality is that every person’s individual situation is different and working […]
One of the most common questions I hear as a pediatric dentist is, “When should I start bringing my child to the dentist?” I remember a dad walking into my office, his chubby-cheeked one-year-old daughter perched on his hip. He glanced around, a bit unsure, and asked, “So… am I too early? Too late?” I smiled. “Actually, you’re right on time.” He raised an eyebrow. “Wait—you’re telling me my baby, who barely has any teeth, already needs a dentist?” I […]
Despite the fear and chaos created across the U.S. as immigration raids detain and deport more and more people, those living in the U.S. still have constitutional and legal protections, such as against illegal searches and warrantless home entries. That was a key takeaway from the media briefing “ICE Is Knocking. What Are Your Rights?” conducted by Ethnic Media Services. Just in the past few weeks, more than 200,000 people have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and at […]
Just in time for the Chinese New Year, the Fort Point Post Office at 25 Dorchester Ave. in Boston has been named after Chinatown activist Caroline Chang. This marks the first Federal building in Massachusetts to be named after a person from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. “Caroline made history, even though she never set out to do it. She was just doing the work of advancing civil rights and public health and equity. But she made history. […]
Walking through Chinatown today, you will encounter layers of its identity: the memories of a Chinatown long gone, the visions of a Chinatown that could have been, the Chinatown that remains a home for long-term residents, and the Chinatown being reshaped for tourists and transplants. In a neighborhood that has been created and stewarded by immigrant Asian American residents, luxury developments now dot the landscape – raising rents, and displacing residents. At the same time, those developments have exacerbated the […]
Buttoned-down suburb of Boston sees an explosion of Chinese, Japanese and Korean food, shopping spots For Asian international students like Nikki Song, Newbury Street used to be her go-to spot to hang out. “It was our only option,” said Song, a Chinese international student studying at Northeastern. But then she discovered an unlikely alternative: Brookline, a town once mainly viewed as a quiet and stodgy suburb with dining options that mostly included family restaurants, a couple of Irish bars and […]
About a decade ago, while in grad school, artist Verónica Pérez received a strange gift: a trash bag full of hair. And they immediately put the furry find to good use. “That was my foray into using hair to represent a human or a body, without actually putting a body into the piece,” says Pérez of their method of creating sculptures. Since that time, the artist’s main medium has become artificial hair. Perez is among the 14 artists who are […]
