January 3, 2025 | Vol. 54, Issue 1

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

immigration

At ‘Last’: Sneaker Co. Takes Big Step for Asian American Pride

For Adam King, his shoe line, 1587 Sneakers, is about more than just footwear. It’s about identity and pride. “We want all people to be unapologetically themselves,” said King. “For me, that’s being a loud, proud Asian American.” Growing up in Dover and Wellesley with few Asian Americans, King remembers the feeling of being from a different culture. “Sometimes you hide them a little bit, or you don’t celebrate them as much as you should. We don’t want any Asian […]

Corky Lee Photo Book Captures Half Century of Fighting for Justice

Photojournalism at its best will do what the dedication of this book promises. It will afford recognition, respect, and equality to the subjects it presents. In this remarkably thorough and beautifully rendered new coffee table book from Penguin Random House, the life and legacy of photographer Corky Lee is on full display, Hua Hsu remarks, in his introduction, about the range and breadth of Lee’s work, going from the tight focus of Manhattan’s Chinatown to the diverse spectrum of Asian […]

For State’s New Migrants, Finding Housing Just One Part of Struggle

For the past year, migrants have been staying at Boston Logan Airport as Massachusetts’s emergency shelter system struggled with the influx of new arrivals. With the shelters full, they sleep on makeshift bedding spread across baggage claim under constant lighting and announcements, are carted out of Logan in the morning to welcome centers, then sent back at night. Authorities have limited knowledge and control of the situation. When asked, Governor Healey’s administration couldn’t state how many migrants were arriving at […]

Vincent Chin Remembered in Hub

Wearing T-shirts reading “STOP ASIAN HATE,” a group of residents and activists arranged candles in the shape of a heart and displayed a portrait of Vincent Chin with his name written in Chinese and “May 18, 1955 — June 23, 1982” last month under the Chinatown Gate. Wilson Lee, co-founder of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Boston Lodge and the Chinese American Heritage Foundation, said he and his wife Esther Zee Lee have organized a vigil for Chin every June […]

Chinatown Nonprofit Celebrates57 Years at Its ‘Gala of Dreams’

The Asian American Civic Association (AACA), publisher of the Sampan newspaper, celebrated its 57th anniversary with an annual gala on June 14 at the University of Massachusetts Club in Boston. This year’s theme was the “Gala of Dreams.” Among the many highlights of the night, Gov. Maura Healey was presented with the Dream Maker Award in recognition of her dedication to making Massachusetts a place of equity, opportunity, and inclusion.For nearly six decades, AACA has been working with immigrant communities […]

Report: When It Comes to Tapping Into Foreign-Educated Talent, Here’s What the State Can Do

When it comes to tapping into a large number of educated workers, many of whom are bilingual, Massachusetts appears to be missing out. Big time. That’s a takeaway from a new report on the some 240,000 foreign-educated immigrants in the state – 106,000 of whom hold a bachelor’s degree and 134,000 of whom have completed at least some grad school. Many of these immigrants earn less than their U.S.-educated peers and work in jobs that fail to fully use their […]

‘Yellow Face’ Explores Identity Across Generations, Continents

“I’m always thinking about, ‘why are we doing this play now?’,” actor Michael Hisamoto told the Sampan of the Lyric Stage production of “Yellow Face.” Hisamoto has a key role in the play, written by David Henry Hwang. The semi-autobiographical show is about the playwright, who appears in the play and is the narrator. It’s about Hwang’s life, his father, and the period of the 1990s and the 2000s. It covers big themes like the “yellow peril” and the Asian […]

An Untold Victim of Anti-Immigrant Speech: Latino Teens and Families

Naikiry, a 20-year-old community college student and full-time worker, knows first-hand the trauma that can be caused when a Latinx family falls apart as it moves the U.S. Her family began to unravel when they emigrated from the Dominican to the U.S. in 2015 and were forced to leave behind her mother, who has yet to join them here. The separation, along with the shock of arriving in a new country, caused Naikiry’s family to fall into depression, loneliness, and […]

U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su Reflects on Family’s Immigration, Value of Unions

Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, spoke at a conference in honor of Asian American Heritage Month on May 13, reflecting on her family’s own path to the U.S., including her mother’s union job and trip to the U.S. from China on a cargo ship.Su is an American attorney and government official who has served as an acting United States secretary of labor since 2023. She’s also the 37th United States deputy secretary of labor, serving since 2021. Elaine Lan Chao […]

Dr. Gisela Velez Awarded for Vision Care to Hispanics, Others

After years of helping under-served Hispanic residents of central Massachusetts with eye care, Dr. Gisela Velez has been honored by the Small Business Association. Her clinic, Central Mass Retina and Uveitis Center, was recently named Woman-Owned Business of the Year.Velez says her ability to care for patients while also speaking both English and Spanish has helped her better serve her patients. Her practice provides specialized medical ophthalmic care to patients whose only other option would be to travel to Boston […]

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