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.

This New Year’s Day was freezing cold. Newton City Hall, though, buzzed with life as my BranchOut group and I made our way upstairs through the crowds. The inauguration of Marc Laredo as the 32nd Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts, was about to begin.  The audience in the City Council Chamber included people from all walks of life. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey was there, as was Chief Justice Kimberly Budd of the Supreme Judicial Court, both to the side of the podium. Several state...