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Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Black April' to triumph: Boston's Vietnamese community to celebrate its history
For Ngoc-Tran Vu, the fall of Saigon, the pivotal event, concluding on April 30, 1975, that finally marked the end of the bloody quagmire that was the Vietnam War, is more than just history. It's her family's story. For Vu and the scores of other Vietnamese people who call Boston's Dorchester neighborhood home, that turning point in world history lives eternally in their memory. And on Saturday, hundreds of people will converge on Boston College High School for the first of four days' worth of events commemorating what's become known as 'Black April,' and the Vietnamese diaspora that followed it. 'It's really momentous,' Vu, a visual artist, an event organizer and the director of '1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Commemoration Initiative,' told MassLive this week. 'It's a chance for us to come together as an intergenerational community to honor the resiliency of the diaspora community,' Vu, whose father fought in the war and was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese, said. The family eventually found their way to the United States as refugees, settling in Boston in 1992. The city was home to some 53,700 Vietnamese people as of 2018. Dorchester's Little Saigon, centered in Fields Corner, is the heart of that community. If you've never been to Fields Corner, it's tough to overstate how integrated the neighborhood's Vietnamese residents are in the life of an ever-more diverse city. Shops selling bánh mì sandwiches, which fuse a French baguette with local ingredients, line Dorchester Avenue. There is also a profusion of noodle shops and seafood restaurants. Further down Dorchester Avenue, other businesses offer travel and financial services, along with dentists, doctors and markets. Keep walking, and you'll hear Vietnamese spoken in conversation. 'I think people know that there is a Vietnamese presence, but they don't understand how large [it is],' Vu said. It's one of the biggest in New England. It's definitely a dominant force in Dorchester." To that end, Dorchester's Vietnamese community is seeking the city's permission to place a permanent memorial at Town Field Park on Park Street in Fields Corner. The park is set for renovation, and Vu and her allies want the memorial incorporated into it. Vu and other supporters of the project made their pitch during an appearance before the Dorchester Civic Association in February, according to the local Dorchester Reporter newspaper. The group is selling commemorative bricks, priced at $500, $1,000, and $2,000, to raise money for the effort. A petition in support of it has already garnered 1,000 signatures, Vu said. 'We're getting a lot of momentum and support for this,' Linh-Phong Vu, one of the organizers, told the Dorchester Reporter. 'It's not a fun project,' she continued. 'It's a memorial to remember. The community has been here for 50 years, and we don't have a memorial for the Vietnamese diaspora community here. That's an issue and a need and we're looking forward to making this happen.' Boston City Councilmember John FitzGerald, who represents Dorchester and a swath of the South End, called the memorial a 'great idea.' 'It's an appropriate offering and a way to memorialize and commemorate the Vietnamese diaspora,' the Democratic pol told MassLive. 'The Vietnamese community is an identity in Dorchester ... and the role it plays in giving back and diversifying the community as a whole, it's awesome.' However, the memorial still has to clear some bureaucratic and fundraising hurdles before it can become a reality. That includes '[finding] the exact right site' amid the planned renovations for Town Field Park, and raising the money that'll be needed for its planning and construction. 'What it represents is great, but it's not cheap,' he allowed, adding that once those hurdles are crossed, the real work on the memorial can start moving through the city's bureaucracy. For this weekend's observances, events start at 3 p.m. Saturday with the kickoff at Boston College High School on Morrissey Boulevard. It will include reflections from community leaders, elected officials, and cultural bearers on the importance of Black April, organizers said. The Saturday event will also be livestreamed. On Sunday, at 2 p.m., at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of UMass Boston, there's a bilingual panel discussion and a screening of the documentary "On Healing Land, Birds Perch." The film tells the story of one of the most harrowing and iconic images of the war: the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shooting Việt Cộng Captain Nguyễn Văn Lém in 1968. On Tuesday, flag-raising ceremonies on City Hall Plaza in Boston and the Dorchester Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Morrissey Boulevard offer what organizers describe as a solemn commemoration of the 'lives lost and the enduring strength of Vietnamese refugees who rebuilt new lives in Boston and beyond.' For Ngoc-Tran Vu, the memorial and the coming Black April observances are an appropriate — and overdue — addition to a city built on the contributions of immigrants. 'It's not just a Vietnamese project, but an addition to the city's landscape,' she said of the memorial. 'With Boston being a city of immigrants, we really wanted to honor that.' Mass. gave the U.S. its Constitution. Why it matters more than ever| Bay State Briefing US-Canada relations tested as border library faces new restrictions | John L. Micek 3 UMass poll numbers that could worry Republicans. And 1 for Democrats | John L. Micek Read the original article on MassLive.
Fox News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Iconic St. Patrick's Day parade starting earlier to prevent ‘tomfoolery' after past ‘regrettable moments'
Kiss me, I'm Irish! – but you better behave. Boston officials are hoping an earlier start time for this year's iconic South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade will tamp down on the "tomfoolery." The two-for-one celebration – a St. Patrick's Day and Evacuation Day parade – is slated to kick off at 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 16. That's an hour-and-a-half earlier than past years as politicians and parade organizers attempt to prevent bad behavior from revelers. "The parade will be starting earlier this year in an attempt to get a better handle on the tomfoolery," state Sen. Nick Collins said in a statement to local outlet, the Dorchester Reporter. "Last year, there were regrettable moments at the parade that we don't want to see repeated this time around." Fox News Digital reached out to Collins, as well as City Councilor Ed Flynn, both of whom called for reforms to the parade after chaos ensued last year. "Operate under the golden rule, and if you wouldn't do it back home – don't do it here," Flynn, a retired U.S. Navy veteran that served during Operation Enduring Freedom, told Fox News Digital. At a press conference on Wednesday, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox shared a similar message. "We ask anyone coming to treat this event, and the neighborhood, as if it was your home," Cox said. "Boston is a welcoming city, but the fact is, we do not welcome unruly and unlawful behavior." "This is a family-friendly event. This is not a drinking fest," Cox continued. Cox said all liquor stores in South Boston will close at 4 p.m., taverns and restaurants will stop admitting people at 6 p.m. and they'll stop serving alcohol at 7 p.m. Cox warned parents that children and teens should be accompanied, or not attend at all. "It's not Mardi Gras, and it's not meant to be that way," Boston EMS Chief James Hooley said at the press conference. South Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade is one of the largest in the United States. Last year's parade drew about a million people. Hooley said the parade was "not as well-behaved last year" and it was particularly driven by "young, intoxicated people in general and the fighting associated with it." Multiple people were arrested at last year's parade, according to local outlet Boston 25 News. Issues included disturbing incidents of violence, assaults that went viral, people on rooftops without a roof deck, and beer cans being thrown at parade marchers, the outlet reported. "If you are a guest, or in South Boston for the Evacuation Day Parade – show some common courtesy and respect for the residents, for our veterans and military families, our dedicated first responders, and our history," Flynn said. The parade is also a celebration of Evacuation Day – the evacuation of British troops from Boston on March 17, 1776.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boston St. Patrick's Day celebration will begin earlier to curb ‘tomfoolery'
Boston officials are hoping to avoid too much "tomfoolery" during this year's St. Patrick's Day parade in Southie by starting festivities an hour earlier. The parade is scheduled for Sunday, March 16, but will start at 11:30am — an hour earlier than usual — in order to wrap up earlier. State Senator Nick Collins, Boston City Councillor Ed Flynn, and other officials sent a joint letter to the state's college and high school associations explaining their desires to see the "anything goes" attitude of last year's parade tamped down. 'The parade will be starting earlier this year in an attempt to get a better handle on the tomfoolery. Last year, there were regrettable moments at the parade that we don't want to see repeated this time around,' Collins told the Dorchester Reporter. Last year, four individuals were captured on video beating another person just two blocks from the parade. The footage went viral on social media. Another video captured two men openly brawling in the street, and security footage captured a group of revelers tearing down a city street sign. Minors were suspected of smuggling alcohol using the city's public transportation and at least one person was accused of public urination onto a Southie resident's property. The letter was sent to the college and high school associations in hopes that they will spread the word to schools — and ultimately students — that there will be consequences for chaos and debauchery at this year's parade. Flynn, who is serving as the parade's general chairman, said in the letter that he has been holding a monthly task force meeting with officials and agencies in the city to work to improve public safety and curb disorderly conduct at this year's event. 'Following last year's unacceptable violence and public drinking at the Evacuation Day Parade,' said Flynn, 'I convened a monthly meeting and task force with the South Boston elected officials, South Boston Allied War Veterans Council and city and state agencies, including the Boston Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, MBTA Transit Police, and the Boston Parks Department, among others," the letter says. "This task force and partners in the community have met multiple times since then to prepare and discuss public safety for all and restore a family-friendly environment at this year's parade.' Immediately after last year's event, Flynn called for a "zero tolerance" policy on public drinking, and even considered moving the parade out of Southie, breaking with years of tradition. 'With almost a million visitors to South Boston for the parade, we can't sustain an 'anything goes' attitude in the neighborhood,' Flynn said. This year's parade will follow its traditional route, and it appears Flynn aims to focus more on Evacuation Day in hopes it will curb some of the harder partying and drinking. Evacuation Day is typically celebrated in Boston on March 17, and commemorates when the British pulled out of the city following the Siege of Boston in 1776. St. Patrick's Day and Evacuation Day are typically celebrated in tandem. 'I have made it a priority to ensure that the focus of the parade returns to Evacuation Day and honoring our veterans, military families, first responders, as well as our proud immigrant history and families that came to our city in search of a better life," Flynn said in a statement. He and the other signatories on the letter implored visitors to the neighborhood to "show some common courtesy and respect to the residents" of Southie and to "operate under the golden rule" during the event.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Boston St. Patrick's Day celebration will begin earlier to curb ‘tomfoolery'
Boston officials are hoping to avoid too much "tomfoolery" during this year's St. Patrick's Day parade in Southie by starting festivities an hour earlier. The parade is scheduled for Sunday, March 16, but will start at 11:30am — an hour earlier than usual — in order to wrap up earlier. State Senator Nick Collins, Boston City Councillor Ed Flynn, and other officials sent a joint letter to the state's college and high school associations explaining their desires to see the "anything goes" attitude of last year's parade tamped down. 'The parade will be starting earlier this year in an attempt to get a better handle on the tomfoolery. Last year, there were regrettable moments at the parade that we don't want to see repeated this time around,' Collins told the Dorchester Reporter. Last year, four individuals were captured on video beating another person just two blocks from the parade. The footage went viral on social media. Another video captured two men openly brawling in the street, and security footage captured a group of revelers tearing down a city street sign. Minors were suspected of smuggling alcohol using the city's public transportation and at least one person was accused of public urination onto a Southie resident's property. The letter was sent to the college and high school associations in hopes that they will spread the word to schools — and ultimately students — that there will be consequences for chaos and debauchery at this year's parade. Flynn, who is serving as the parade's general chairman, said in the letter that he has been holding a monthly task force meeting with officials and agencies in the city to work to improve public safety and curb disorderly conduct at this year's event. 'Following last year's unacceptable violence and public drinking at the Evacuation Day Parade,' said Flynn, 'I convened a monthly meeting and task force with the South Boston elected officials, South Boston Allied War Veterans Council and city and state agencies, including the Boston Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, MBTA Transit Police, and the Boston Parks Department, among others," the letter says. "This task force and partners in the community have met multiple times since then to prepare and discuss public safety for all and restore a family-friendly environment at this year's parade.' Immediately after last year's event, Flynn called for a "zero tolerance" policy on public drinking, and even considered moving the parade out of Southie, breaking with years of tradition. 'With almost a million visitors to South Boston for the parade, we can't sustain an 'anything goes' attitude in the neighborhood,' Flynn said. This year's parade will follow its traditional route, and it appears Flynn aims to focus more on Evacuation Day in hopes it will curb some of the harder partying and drinking. Evacuation Day is typically celebrated in Boston on March 17, and commemorates when the British pulled out of the city following the Siege of Boston in 1776. St. Patrick's Day and Evacuation Day are typically celebrated in tandem. 'I have made it a priority to ensure that the focus of the parade returns to Evacuation Day and honoring our veterans, military families, first responders, as well as our proud immigrant history and families that came to our city in search of a better life," Flynn said in a statement. He and the other signatories on the letter implored visitors to the neighborhood to "show some common courtesy and respect to the residents" of Southie and to "operate under the golden rule" during the event.
