Women’s History in Chinatown: A Walking Tour

By Emely Paulino

On Saturday, March 30, 2024, a group of 20 Wagner students met outside of the Mabel Lee Memorial Post Office on Doyers Street in Chinatown, New York, for a special walking tour highlighting women’s history in Chinatown. The tour was organized by Wagner Womxn and the Pan Asian Student Alliance (PASA). 

Wellington Chen, Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership, serves as the group’s tour guide. He began by pointing out the small plaque in front of the post office with Mabel Lee’s name. She was the first Chinese woman to graduate from Columbia University with a PhD in Economics and was a leading figure in New York’s suffrage movement. “Even though women in New York State were granted the right to vote in 1917 and the 19th Amendment passed in 1920,” Wellington explained, “women like Mabel Lee could not vote until 1943 because of the Chinese Exclusion Act.” Despite this barrier, Mabel Lee continued to advocate for the right to vote. Learning about her story was a powerful way to kick off the walking tour, which focused on women leaders and entrepreneurs in Chinatown. 

Taking advantage of the sunny day, the tour concluded with a fun outdoor dining experience with our favorite food from local women-owned businesses.

Written by Emely Paulino, a MPA-PNP 2024 student and president of Wagner Womxn.