April 26, 2024 | Vol. 53, Issue 8

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Top News

historic row houses on hudson street in chinatown

Preserving Chinatown’s Row Houses for Working Families

by Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust (請點這裡閱讀中文版。) The Chinatown Community Land Trust (CLT) is particularly focused on preserving row houses and small properties as permanently affordable housing. Currently there are seven row house condo units for sale.  (The lottery has already been held for these units.)  History of the Row Houses Chinatown’s brick row houses date back to the early/mid-1800s, when landfill projects first created the South Cove neighborhood. Many of these homes were built by Irish immigrants and […]

Boston Globe diagram of Harrison Avenue

The first attempt to eradicate Chinatown

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) Around 1884, Boston’s Chinatown coalesced as a neighborhood and community, especially on Harrison Avenue. Only seven years later, the first attempt to eradicate Chinatown arose, fueled by racism and propelled by businesses seeking to get wealthier. At this point, there were less than 1000 Chinese living in Boston, and 70% of those worked in laundries.  The endeavor to eliminate Chinatown centered on a proposal to widen Harrison Avenue, the section between Essex and Beach Streets. The Boston Globe, April 14, […]

Highway Washing art project Chinatown

“Washing” art project will open conversation on Chinatown highways

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) The artist team behind a public art project called “Washing” held an open listening session for the Chinatown community on March 7. The multimedia work is being created by Lily Xie, Dianyvet Serrano, Chu Huang, Charlene Huang, and Maggie Chen, in collaboration with the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), and it will showcase resident stories about the history of the I-93 and I-90 highways. Culminating in an outdoor projection event in July, Washing explores the impact of the interstates […]

Students graduate from school

14 families filed lawsuit against BPS “Zip Code Quota Admissions”

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) Boston is home to three elite exam schools: Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School, and the John D. O’Bryant School. These schools, although public, are different from their counterparts as they require excellence in academic grades and high scores on a standardized test in order for students to attend. They have also long been contested as adding to the inequities of disadvantaged students of color, who are largely disproportionately represented at these elite schools, especially at Boston Latin Academy. […]

Quincy Asian Resources Inc. Lunar New Year celebration

The Year of the Ox brings opportunities in a time of crisis

Celebrating the Year of the Ox, many are hopeful of the year to come, as the Ox represents strength and change. In this time of crisis, due to the pandemic and rise of Asian hate crime, the symbol of the Ox has created an opportunistic outlook for many organizations, schools, and families as they virtually gather to celebrate this year’s Lunar New Year. Remarkably, they have fostered a new sense of creativity and vigor as they seek to provide a […]

Vaccine rollout racial inequalities persist in Massachusetts and the nation

In some ways COVID 19 has brought all together in our vulnerability, but in other ways it has again reflected our stark differences and the existence of  institutional racism all around us. A new coalition “Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition” has brought together public health experts, civil rights, and social justice leaders to collectively address the racial inequalities that exist in the coronavirus distribution in Massachusetts. According to recent data from the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA), white residents had received […]

Dim sum Chinese dumplings sold at blob joint restaurants

Blob Joints: a history of dim sum in the U.S.

The delights of dim sum! Numerous trolley carts of bamboo steamers with bao, dumplings, and other dishes are pushed around the room, and you simply point at the dishes you want. Sometimes you order off a menu, selecting from a long list of intriguing choices. You might have your own favorite dim sum spot in Chinatown, or maybe elsewhere.  When did dim sum first come to the U.S.? What was the first dim sum restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown? Its origins […]

A shot from Jon Osaki's documentary "Alternative Facts," about Japanese internment

‘Alternative Facts’ sheds light on Japanese American internment

The incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps happened during World War II, but the culture of false information and political manipulation that went on then is still very active today, according to filmmaker Jon Osaki. His movie, “Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066,” was featured in “Shared Stories,” a monthly film series that began streaming from February 24 – 28. The program was a collaboration between the Boston Asian American Film Festival, Boston Latino International Film Festival, […]

Amidst new state initiatives, bilingual senior home residents reflect on overcoming vaccine hesitancy

For weeks, a coalition of local organizations and medical professionals have urged Governor Charlie Baker to prioritize the state’s minority and immigrant communities during COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Further slowing vaccination efforts, vaccine hesitancy stemming from historical health inequities persists among eligible seniors in those communities. Two Chinese residents of the Brown Family House, who received the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1 of Massachusetts’ rollout plan, spoke to Sampan about the experience and why they overcame their vaccine hesitancy. […]

Wen-hao Tien wields metaphorical meanings in her new exhibit: Home On our Backs

Photo: Wen-Hao Tien’s Home on Our Backs: Dust to Mountains, Red Dress, and Nostalgia at the Pao Arts Center 2021 (Photo courtesy of Warren Patterson Photography) “We believe mountains can be moved, that worlds exist within a rock, and respond emotionally to the color red.” These metaphorical words perfectly exemplify Wen-Hao Tien’s new exhibit at the Pao Arts Center: Home on our Backs.  Originally, Tien is trained in calligraphy and monochrome works, but she has recently taken a turn into […]

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