Legacy of Caroline Chang
Today was the official ceremony for the renaming of the Boston South Station post office on 25 Dorchester Avenue to the Caroline Chang Post Office. This designation marks the first federal building in Massachusetts named after an individual from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Caroline Chang (1940-2018) was a lifelong activist working alongside and among Boston's Chinese American population. Born in Chinatown in 1940, she started out as an unofficial translator for her community, and graduated in mathematics at Boston University. Chang then went on to become the manager of Chinatown's Little City Hall, and then started as an Equal Opportunity Specialist at the Office for Civil Rights at the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. She earned a law degree from Suffolk Law School, and finally, in 1982, made her way up as the Regional Manager for the U.S. Office for Civil Rights. This position made her the highest-ranking Asian American in New England's federal government.
Caroline Chang made a long-lasting impact for the Asian community in Boston. The list of organizations that Chang founded or co-founded include our very own AACA, as well as:
The South Cove Community Health Center,
The Chinese Golden Age Center,
The Asian Community Development Corporation,
The Chinese Historical Society of New England,
The Chinese American Women Oral History Project, and
The Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts.
During the event, the community came together to hear remarks from Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who helped to pass the bill honoring Caroline Chang, as well as Mayor Michelle Wu, who credited her own life journey to many community organizations that Caroline Chang founded, including AACA and South Cove Community Health Center. At the reception, family and friends shared stories highlighting her commitment to activism and community.
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