Features

May 6, 2022 0

Society’s Other Covid-19 Symptom, Bigotry, Takes a Toll

Low-income Asian American families have faced disproportionate hardships since the Covid-19 pandemic began, as I reported here in the last issue of Sampan. “Many people are surprised to learn that Asian Americans have the highest poverty rate of any racial-ethnic group in Boston — it’s about 29%, ” Carolyn Wong, a researcher at the Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, told me. Wong is the co-writer of a recently published report on the struggles faced by Asians in the Boston area from the pandemic. “The lowest paid workers […]

May 6, 2022 0

With Immigration Rule’s Fate in Limbo, So Is Fate of Many Asylum Seekers

by Moninisha Yadav

In recent decades, the United States has added approximately 1 million immigrants every year. This has happened in accordance with a number of provisions of immigration law, primarily through the sponsorship of family members who are U.S. citizens. However, when COVID-19 escalated in March of 2020, the number of immigration admissions, which had already been slowing greatly during the Trump administration, came to a virtual stop. As part of its approach to reduce immigration, the Trump administration sought to bypass […]

May 6, 2022 0

As Mother’s Day Approaches, U.S. Faces a Fertility Crisis

by Jeff Millman

It’s Mother’s Day, and fewer people than ever are having children. In the United States the birth rate has plummeted by nearly 20% since 2007. The beginning of this decade saw the lowest numbers for average births ever recorded, and the downward trend shows no signs of stopping. While the causes of the initial drop were well-understood – rates began to fall rapidly during the Great Recession in the late 2000s – economists and policy makers are puzzled by the […]

May 6, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC
(Asian American Civic Association Low Income Taxpayer Clinic)

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick I am a journeyman finish carpenter. I spent the whole week sorting through my lumber supply invoices and pay records for my construction helper. But….I am relieved. I managed to file my income tax returns by the April 15 tax deadline this year. At the same time, I am worried that the IRS is going to audit me again. I’m being audited for last year. When I went to my mailbox, I noticed a thick letter with the […]

May 6, 2022 0

Failure to Fund Successful Health Services Program Leaves 30,000 Vulnerable Residents, Communities of Color Without Vital Care

by Sampan Staff

On March 29, 2022, ABCD—Action for Boston Community Development—received the shocking news that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Population Affairs, was terminating funding of the anti-poverty organization’s Title X Family Planning program as of March 31, 2022. For more than 50 years, in collaboration with a vital community health center network, ABCD has done an exemplary job of delivering critical health services to more than 30,000 low-income residents and communities of color. Where are our […]

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 […]

May 6, 2022 0

The First Chinese Restaurants in Springfield

by Richard Auffrey

Although numerous Chinese immigrants settled in the Boston area during the latter part of the 20th century, many others moved to different parts of the state, including Springfield. The Springfield Republican,October 1, 1893, reported that there were about 25 Chinese living in the city, employed in 12 laundries. The article reflected very positively on the Chinese, stating “[the] Chinese as seen in the East are as a class law-abiding and inoffensive. Very seldom is one arrested or complained of for crime, […]

May 6, 2022 0

Spring Crêpes at Lady M

by AdenM

Roses are red, this crêpe’s for you! Spring is at last in full swing and Lady M has unleashed its updated menu for May with several exciting new seasonal varieties of its world-renowned multi-layered crepe cakes. Just in time for Mother’s Day, their latest offerings run the gamut from the floral to the fruity and make the perfect gift for the holiday. Show your gratitude with their returning rose cake. Elegantly topped with a glassy sheen of rose jelly and […]

May 6, 2022 0

Crying in H Mart

by Christopher John Stephens

There are few more universal signs of cultural prosperity than a well-stocked supermarket. At their best, they represent the widest array of what we can offer ourselves, our friends, and our neighbors. At their worst, they’re the embodiment of consumer excess, especially in the United States, as they are easily accessible primarily to people with their own transportation and money to spare. Walking down a football field length of at least a dozen aisles, tempted by everything: natural foods, fresh […]

April 27, 2022 0

Covid-19: Severe Impact on Lower-Income Households

by Max Wei

In Carolyn Wong and Ziting Kuang’s report Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic, a Multi-Lingual Survey in Greater Boston in 2020-21, the impact of the pandemic on English-limited and low-income Asian families are mainly reflected in financial losses, unemployment, and food and housing difficulties. In their survey, the population is focused on Chinese American, Vietnamese American, and South Asian ethnicities living in the neighborhoods of Chinatown, Dorchester, Malden, and Quincy. The survey also pays attention to the percentage of low-income […]

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