Chinatown's Caroline Chang Puts Her Stamp on History
The late Chinatown activist Caroline Chang put an official stamp on Boston’s history on Sept. 10. That day, nearly a hundred people – a mix of longtime Chinatown activists, politicians and other officials – gathered at the Fort Point Post Office at 25 Dorchester Ave. on Sept. 10 for the ceremonial renaming of the Boston post office.
The renaming of the post office, one of the main processing areas for all Boston packages and mail, to the Caroline Chang Post Office, comes after three years of advocacy and legislative work. The dedication ceremony marked the first federal building in Massachusetts to be named after a person of Asian American and Pacific Islander descent.
“Today is about much more than simply unveiling a new name. A new name gives us an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the life, contribution, dedication and lasting impact of someone who made a meaningful difference in our community… Today this place will carry Caroline Chang’s name, a name that will serve as a lasting reminder of her commitment to service, her connection to this community and her belief in making a difference,” said Boston Postmaster James Murphy.
Caroline Chang’s Legacy
Caroline Chang was a lifelong activist and high-ranking civil servant working alongside Boston's Chinese American population until she died in 2018. She was born in Chinatown in 1940 to a family of immigrants from China’s Guangdong Province. Early on, Chang began helping out in her community by interpreting for neighbors when they were seeking medical care. In 1970, Chang was appointed as the first manager of Chinatown's Little City Hall, in which she advocated for the Chinatown residents.
Her long climb up through the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare began through the Office for Civil Rights as the Equal Opportunity Specialist. At the same time, she earned a law degree from Suffolk Law School. In 1982, Chang was promoted to New England Regional Manager for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. This position made her the highest-ranking Asian American in the federal government at that time.
Chang helped found many key organizations in Chinatown that still serve Boston’s Asian American community, including the Asian American Civic Association, the publisher of Sampan. Other organizations she helped found include South Cove Community Health Center, Chinese Golden Age Center, Asian Community Development Corporation, and Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts.
Chang also made significant contributions to the Greater Boston Legal Services, the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund, the National Institute for Women of Color, the American Repertory Theater, and the Asian American Forum.
All of these achievements did not go unnoticed. Chang was the recipient of several awards in recognition for her efforts including Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, the Amelia Earhart Award from the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union in Boston, the Founders Award from the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, and the Sojourner Award from the Chinese Historical Society of New England.
“(Caroline’s) early sense of purpose and community manifested into a love of organizing and movement building that remained with her as she went on to fight in all levels of government against discrimination faced by Asian Americans,” said U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, in her speech to the House Floor in 2024. “At a time when the contributions of Black, brown, AAPI, and other marginalized communities are facing increased threats and erasure, recognizing their contributions by securing their representation is a small but meaningful step forward.”
Suzanne Lee, president emeritus of the Chinese Progressive Association, told Sampan that working with Pressley for the post office renaming was to “uplift both the history of our AAPI community and highlight people’s contributions.”
“Given the legacy of (Caroline’s) work around our community, and with very few federal buildings named after women, it was no brainer to nominate Caroline based on what she has done.”
In her speech during the dedication ceremony, Mayor Michelle Wu credited her own life journey to many community organizations that Caroline Chang founded, including AACA and South Cove Community Health Center. From getting funding for a place to stay in Boston for a summer internship, to relying on the community health center for her mother, her personal story speaks to the continuing impact of these organizations, she said.
Lee emphasized that “Caroline was a part of the era of government-funded agencies services that are under the umbrella of the civil rights movement. A large part of that is that if they have money and services for others, the Chinese community needs it too. If they have money for healthcare, we as a community deserve to have a part of that. We can not be ignored.”
Now, she said, with the renaming, “When (people) go into the main post office, when they look at the history and understand the story, it raises questions and history in people’s minds. For future generations, you start asking questions, so that history is not lost.”
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