At 6:00 am, the Somerville kitchen for Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center begins preparing the 3,000 daily meals for the elderly all across the Boston metro area. By 9:00 am, the vans are packed full of coolers with several hundred meals each and depart on one of the 14 routes serving Quincy, Brighton, downtown Boston and beyond. By 1:00 pm, all 3,000 meals have been served and the vans return to Somerville to be…
We’ve all experienced it for months at this point; the current election cycle is a ceaseless storm of sound bites and inconsistent information. Like a radio scanner bouncing between channels, it’s become increasingly difficult to know exactly what will be on the ballot, from a local to a state level, and what, precisely, is at stake. Through all of the political maneuvering, the issue that continues to resurface and make headlines is immigration. Whether the…
Becoming a United States citizen is a process laden with bureaucratic loopholes, stifling processes, and nearly aspect is requires a innate knowledge of the immigration system. With President Trump’s recent proclamation to revoke birthright citizenship, the path continues to narrow and become more deluded. While there are several different methods to becoming a citizen, the general process takes at least five years and includes background checks, written tests, and judgments of character. In order…
Throughout the performance of The Peculiar Patriot, Liza Jessie Peterson, as Betsy LaQuanda Ross, constructs a quilt, carefully sewing together the narrative of her incarcerated friends and family, each square of fabric representing their stories. With each quilted piece, we learn more about the intricacies of how mass incarcerations affects individuals and their communities. Stitched together like the stars and stripes of Betsy Ross’s original United States flag, our Betsy Ross sews a different American symbol,…
The Peculiar Patriot (OCT 17-28) is amazing audiences throughout its Boston debut. Liza Jessie Peterson’s poetry and command of the stage communicate a story beyond the walls of any theatre and imparts on us a story often hidden below the surface. As we continue discussing mass incarceration, both nationally and within our state, it was important to discuss how ArtsEmerson and Emerson College are working to break down barriers and foster community. The Emerson Prison Initiative,…
