How Mayor Wu's life experiences shaped her perspectives, career path
BOSTON - You're used to seeing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu with a dozen cameras and microphones in her face, but to close out AAPI Heritage Month, WBZ-TV took Mayor Wu out of City Hall.
"We're in South Boston, at Mei Mei Dumplings," said owner Irene Shiang Li.
Anchor Chris Tanaka and reporter Tiffany Chan sat down with Mayor Wu for a dumpling rolling class.
"It's been a while, I'm a little rusty," joked Mayor Wu. "I remember cranking out tray after tray after tray."
It's a Chinese family tradition - folding dumplings around the dinner table.
Mayor Wu's parents emigrated to the United States from Taiwan about a year before she was born and didn't speak English. At a young age, Wu and her siblings took the role of translating for her family.
"How did that shape you," asked Chan. "Learning English and being the translator for your family?"
"The culture that I grew up in was quite traditional in terms of an immigrant family. I was supposed to be respectful and quiet," replied Wu. "But then when we crossed that doorway and went out into the world, it was in some ways on the kids' shoulders to help navigate - whether it was at the grocery store or at school."
That feeling of not being like the rest of her classmates, Wu said, was inevitable.
"Just that frustration of always feeling different, like I'm always sticking out in some way," Wu said. "I hope kids in our school district feel different."
Feeling different and never being fully understood was what inspired Wu to run for office.
"We always had a sense that these large institutions like City Halls or government were places that you had to stay away from, stay invisible from," Wu explained. "Or have someone misunderstand, or misinterpret something... It's, in some ways, ironic that I'm in this role now."
"Is it irony or is it destiny," asked Tanaka.
"This was very much against expectations," Wu replied. "The leadership we're seeing now from Asian Americans is in every sector and every field. It's incredibly powerful."