September 3, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

Freemasons practicing for tournament.

Saturday, September 4, 2010 8:00 A.M.
Opening Ceremonies
Washington St/Traveler St Parking Lot

For complete schedule:
http://boston.nacivt.com/page5/SchedRslt.html

The Beginnings of Volleyball in Chinatown
In the late 1930’s, there was not much for young Chinese laundry workers to do other than work. Just about ten years earlier, the Immigration Act of 1924 had effectively shut the door on all immigration to the U.S. from Asia. It declared that all Asians were “not eligible” for citizenship. It then went on to say that persons not eligible for citizenship were barred from entering the United States. Since Asian were not eligible for citizenship, this meant that any Asian who was not a citizen of the United States at the time the law was passed could not leave the country if he or she ever wished to return later.

Recreation for laundry workers was extremely limited. Laundry work usually meant 10 to 18-hour days, 6 days a week. Sunday was their only day off. On Sunday they could do what they liked, but there was not much to do. The usual “American” entertainment was either prohibited to them, or did not make much sense. Usually they “hung out,” visited Chinatown or visited with other laundry workers.

Henry Oi was one of those young laundry workers who participated in the original tournaments. At 76 he is now retired from business, but is still very active in the life of community. As a young man, he worked in his father’s laundry. He still remembers the hard work, long hours, and how little he earned. He still remembers that on his day off from the laundry, he would hang out with other laundry workers at a local drug store on the corner of Beach and Washington Streets in Boston Chinatown, but this was not very interesting. Life for the young people of Chinatown was mostly “a matter of no time and no money” he says.

Some of them wanted to spend the few free hours they had to themselves doing something which was not breaking the law or getting into trouble. But more than this, they wanted something that would promote friendship. Friendship is essential to society. One thing they found they could do was go to the Chinatown YMCA.

The facilities of the Chinatown Y were quite limited. There, the young men found a table tennis table and a backyard. In this backyard they could play volleyball.

Reference: 55th NACIVT Program Book. Boston, 1999

For the entire story visit: http://boston.nacivt.com/page1/History.html

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August 28, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

This week, a vacant lot near Boston’s Chinatown Gate becomes a free, outdoor theater, showing Kung-Fu and classic Chinese-language films under the stars. In 2010, Films at the Gate is back for the fifth year, showing films from Thursday, August 26 through Sunday, August 29, 2010. Films at the Gate is presented by the Asian Community Development Corporation and Boston Street Lab. Email info@filmsatthegate.org

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July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

The Chinatown Master Plan 2010 in collaboration with the Chinese Progressive Association’s Wong/Yee Memorial Gallery is hosting an exhibit on the Chinatown Master Plan 2010: Community Vision for the Future Exhibit. Chinatown Master Plan 2010: Community Vision for the Future Exhibit documents the community’s 2-year process to create a plan and vision for the more sustainable and livable Chinatown. Combining photography and drawings, the exhibit includes drawings by youth, sketches, and photos of community members. The exhibit will run from July 23 - Sept. 24 with an opening reception on Friday, July 23 5pm-7pm.

Opening Reception
Friday, July 23
5pm-7pm
1 Nassau Street #2, Boston
Free admission

Normal W/Y Memorial Gallery Hours
Mon - Wed 9am - 5pm
Sat. 10am - 12pm
Gallery is open to the public

Contact:
Tom Chen, W/Y Memorial Gallery 617-357-4499 wygallery@gmail.com
Lisa Liu, 617-635-5129 ext 1071 lisa.liu@chinatowngateway.org

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July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

PRESS ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 21, 2010
Contact:
Lisette Le (617) 357-4499 lisette@cpaboston.org
Cynthia Mark (617) 603-1720 cmark@gbls.org

Victory for Asian American Voting Rights!

After two years of lobbying and advocacy, the bill for Chinese and Vietnamese bilingual ballots in the City of Boston has been passed by both houses of the Massachusetts Legislature. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Deval Patrick who has promised to sign the bill. The bill would take in affect in January 2011 and applies only in the City of Boston but will include elections for municipal, state and federal level. Once the bill is signed, Chinese/English and Vietnamese/English bilingual ballots would be available in precincts where the linguistic population is concentrated.

“This is a very happy occasion. When bilingual ballots ended in 2008, we were at a loss. We have been fighting for so long. We will be able to vote easily now, without fear of making mistakes. This victory would not have been possible without voters organizing. I’d like to thank all of the supporters of the bilingual ballots,” says voter and activist Dan Xin Chen.

Boston launched Chinese and Vietnamese bilingual ballots through an agreement with the US Department of Justice in 2005 but the agreement expired in 2008. Since then, the Coalition for Asian American Voting rights have been tirelessly advocating for bilingual ballots to be extended. The Coalition would like to acknowledge the support of Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston City Council, lead sponsors of the bill Representative Jeffrey Sanchez and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Chinatown’s Representative Aaron Michlewitz, House of Representative and Senate leadership, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Greater Boston Legal Service, and the many voters who supported and lobbied for this legislation.

With bilingual ballots, United States citizens whose primary language is Chinese or Vietnamese will be able to vote freely and independently. Bilingual ballots are most needed by the elderly, who have the most difficulty learning English. Elderly, long-time residents are exempted from the English language portion of the citizenship exam if they have had permanent residency for upwards of 15 years. These are the voters who were the staunchest advocates for bilingual ballots.

Coalition for Asian American Voting Rights: Alderman Amy Mah Sangiolo, Newton * American Chinese Christian Educational & Social Services, Inc. * American Chinese Federation * Asian American Civic Association * Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund * Asian American Resource Workshop * Asian Community Development Corporation * Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition * Blessed Mother Theresa Parish * Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center * Chinatown Main Street * Chinatown Resident Association * Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association * Chinese Historical Society of New England * Chinese Progressive Association * Chung Wah Academy * Former City Councilor Sam Yoon, Boston * Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center * Hakka Association * Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund * Mass Pike Towers Tenant Association * Massachusetts Vietnamese American Women’s League * MassVOTE * New Majority * ONE Lowell * Organization of Chinese Americans * Taishan Association * Taishan #1 High School Alumni Association * Tai Tung Village Tenant Association * VietAID * Vietnamese America Community of Massachusetts * Vietnamese American Small Business Association

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July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

A 2008 Poll revealed that 9.4 million Americans actively practice martial arts in a given year, and some 21.7 million Americans have practiced martial arts of some kind in their lifetime. Casting those numbers aside, along with the 30,000+ active martial arts schools in the U.S., the increasing popularity of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and Hollywood’s ongoing barrage of martial arts infused films; it is shocking the amount of misinformation that still exists in popular culture about the martial arts.

Despite what you’ve heard, martial artists cannot fly, black belts do not need to carry a special card that identifies them as lethal weapons, nor is there a style that is better than another, regardless of what you have heard. That would be much like saying, “what is better baseball or basketball?”

These are some of the myths that the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE.org) will try to dispel during their first annual Boston Martial arts Academy(BMAA) being held on August 28, 2010. The one-day seminar and workshop has gathered together the ‘best of the best’ of various styles in the New England area to play host to both first-time martial artists and advanced stylists from around the United State and beyond. “The Boston Center for Adult Education received enough interest and feedback to create this first ever event in the city of Boston. They’ve aggressively assembled some of the best martial artists in the area and while many martial arts camps or seminars focus on advanced students and physical education based classes, the BMAA hosts all levels of students and provides both classroom based lectures on history and technique, as well as hands-on workshops on everything from basic stylistic techniques to advanced striking, blocking and ground fighting. I am always surprised how many people are extremely interested in the martial arts but are too intimidated to make that step into the dojo, and even more surprised at how many martial artists have no idea where their style came from and how little they know about the other styles out there,” said Spokesperson for the BCAE and Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do practitioner JP Faiella.

The 1-day university consists of classroom lectures and physical classes and students must take a minimum of (6) classes to take part in graduation from the seminar.

The instructors graciously donating their time at this year’s event will be:
-       Sifu Bob Rosen, Chief Instructor of the Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Association
-       Sifu Mai Du, Instructor of Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy of Malden
-       Sensei Jason Gould, Founder of Emerald Necklace Budo Martial Arts
-       Sensei Heather Randolph, Head Instructor of Boston Kokikai Aikido, Inc.
-       Gershon Ben Keren, Director of the Boston Academy of Krav Maga
-       Ali Roshankish, Founder of the Roshankish Martial Arts Center
-       Contra Mestre Chuvisquinho, Instructor of Capoeira at Roshankish Martial Arts Center
-       João “Amaral” Miranda, Head coach of Brazilian Top Team Boston

For more information or to sign up please visit: www.bostonmartialartsacademy.com. The event is $199.00USD and includes commemorative certificate and T-shirt. Visit one of the local school listed for a code to get the special price of $99.00 for the event.

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