The housing crisis is a pressing issue affecting many regions across the United States, with Massachusetts serving as a notable example. Even with the rising costs of housing nationwide since the COVID pandemic, Massachusetts has faced exacerbated challenges due to elevated interest rates and high material costs. These financial pressures, combined with restrictive zoning laws that excessively regulate the type and nature of buildings in certain areas, have led to significant barriers in address

Newton, Massachusetts is a city with a mean income of about $190,000, according to Data USA, and a 96% graduation rate according to the U.S. News and World Report. Newton, of course, is generally considered a ‘rich’ town. As such, I did not initially think that my town had many problems with poverty. They were never our problems; they were always someone else’s. They were not to be seen in our everyday lives.

That climb was exhausting, but it pales in comparison to the metaphorical mountain Asian Americans have been forced to scale for centuries. Our history in this country has been one long, steep ascent against a landscape of exclusion.