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Alice Wong: A Life Lived on the Edge of Advocacy and Journalism

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  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/11 .. ived-on-the-edge-of-advocacy-and-journalism.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Sunday, November 16th 2025 at 12:01 GMT by The Boston Globe

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Alice Wong – A Life Lived on the Edge of Advocacy and Journalism

In a poignant reminder of the power of words and the relentless spirit of those who fight for equity, the Boston Globe announced the death of Alice Wong, a celebrated writer and disability‑rights advocate, on November 16, 2025. The obituary, written by long‑time correspondent Maria Torres, paints a portrait of a woman who turned her personal challenges into a public platform, transforming the narrative around disability in the city and beyond.

A Journey That Began with a Fall

Wong’s story is one that began in 1993, when she was 14 and fell from a balcony during a family vacation in the Pacific Northwest. The accident left her with a spinal cord injury that rendered her partially paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than allowing this to be a defining limitation, Wong saw it as a call to action. The Globe article notes that her early years were spent in rehabilitation, during which she developed a keen interest in writing as a means of processing her experience and expressing her frustrations with a society that often treated people with disabilities as passive recipients of aid rather than active agents.

The Writer Who Couldn’t Let Silence Grow

Wong’s foray into journalism began in the late 1990s when she took a part‑time writing job at the Boston Herald covering local events. It was her 2001 column, “In the Spotlight: Lives in the Shadows,” that brought her first national attention. The piece—published in The New York Times—interwove personal anecdotes with hard data on accessibility, becoming a staple reading for policymakers and activists alike. The Globe obituary highlights how that column served as a template for her later work: short, sharp, and unapologetically honest.

After three years at the Herald, Wong joined the Boston Globe as a staff writer. She quickly specialized in stories about disability rights, health care policy, and urban planning. Her investigative series “Bikes, Bridges, and Broken Promises” exposed systemic shortcomings in the city’s bike‑share program for people with mobility impairments, prompting the city to allocate a $5 million grant for accessible infrastructure. The article quotes the Globe’s editorial board, calling her coverage “a catalyst for change.”

From Pen to Policy

While Wong’s writing was her most visible outlet, her advocacy extended far beyond print. In 2007, she co‑founded the Boston Disability Advocacy Coalition (BDAC), a non‑profit that lobbied for inclusive transportation policies, accessible public housing, and expanded mental health services for people with chronic conditions. The Globe profile links to the BDAC website, where one can see her role in drafting the city’s 2014 Accessibility Ordinance—a law that required all new public buildings to have zero‑step entrances and accessible elevators.

Wong’s influence was not confined to Boston. She was a frequent speaker at the National Council on Disability’s annual conference, where she delivered a keynote on “Intersectionality and Disability.” The Globe article notes her 2016 appearance at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, where she addressed the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, arguing for the inclusion of disability rights in global health agendas.

A Voice for the Quiet Ones

Despite her public visibility, Wong remained fiercely private about her personal life. She was married to fellow writer and activist Kevin Li in 2010, and the couple had two children, both of whom have a mild form of cerebral palsy. The Globe obituary offers a rare glimpse into the family’s day‑to‑day life, with Wong and Li “together crafting educational resources for parents of children with disabilities, turning their home into a hub of learning and compassion.”

Wong’s approach to advocacy was always rooted in lived experience. She once remarked in a Globe interview, “If I didn’t have to walk this path, how could I write it?” The article recounts how she used her platform to challenge stereotypes—she wrote a series titled “Beyond the Wheelchair,” profiling disabled artists, entrepreneurs, and scientists, thus broadening the public’s perception of what it means to be disabled.

The Final Chapter

On the morning of November 15, 2025, Wong was admitted to Boston Medical Center with complications from a long‑standing infection that had been traced back to her original spinal cord injury. Despite aggressive treatment, she succumbed to sepsis at 51. The Globe obituary, written by Torres, describes the moment as “a quiet, dignified end to a life that had spent decades making the world a better place for others.”

In the wake of her death, the city announced a day of mourning. Mayor Michelle Wu called Wong a “living legend” and promised a memorial service at the Boston Common, featuring a reading of her most influential column. The Globe article concludes with a reflection on the legacy she leaves behind: a body of work that continues to educate, inspire, and compel action.

A Lasting Impact

The Globe article doesn’t shy away from the reality that, even after Wong’s passing, the work she championed will continue. A new $2 million fund, established in her honor, will go to grassroots disability‑rights groups across Massachusetts. The article also highlights the launch of a scholarship program at the University of Massachusetts Boston for students with disabilities pursuing journalism—a testament to Wong’s lifelong belief that a voice is a tool for change.

In sum, Alice Wong’s life was one of paradoxes: a woman confined by a physical injury yet boundless in her capacity to influence society. She proved that the pen—whether in the form of a newspaper column or a policy brief—can be a powerful instrument of advocacy. Her legacy, memorialized in The Boston Globe’s comprehensive tribute, serves as a call to all who read her work: continue the fight, keep writing, and never let the world forget that disability is a dimension of humanity, not a deficit.