Award-Winning Journalist Michael Luo to Kick off BDI’s 2026 Building Bridges Season

Updated: Nov 18

SARASOTA, Fla. — Nov. 17, 2025 — The Boxser Diversity Initiative (BDI) will launch its 2026 Building Bridges Discussion Series with award-winning journalist and The New Yorker executive editor Michael Luo, who will headline the opening event, Strangers in the Land, on Jan. 8, 2026, at the Historic Asolo Theater of the Ringling Museum of Art.

Luo, a George Polk Award and Livingston Award recipient, will explore the deeply resonant and often overlooked history of Chinese immigration to the United States. His work traces the experiences of tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants who arrived in the mid-19th century seeking opportunity but instead faced violence, exclusion and the federal government’s first race-based immigration ban, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Luo’s forthcoming appearance will examine how these early struggles shaped the trajectory of Chinese American life and how the community’s resilience and contributions have become integral to the nation’s cultural, political and economic landscape. The event sets the tone for a Building Bridges season dedicated to historical truth-telling, community dialogue and fostering understanding during a time of heightened national polarization.

“Michael Luo’s extraordinary reporting invites us to confront difficult chapters of our shared history with honesty and empathy,” said Dan Boxser, co-founder and board chair of the Boxser Diversity Initiative. “Opening our 2026 series with this conversation reflects BDI’s commitment to building bridges through knowledge, storytelling and the courage to face the past so we can move forward together.”

Luo joined The New Yorker in 2016 and writes frequently on politics, religion and Asian American issues. Before that, he spent 13 years at The New York Times as a metro reporter, national correspondent and investigative reporter and editor.

The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited, and reservations are required.

Event Details

Strangers in the Land | Michael Luo

Date: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026

Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Location: Historic Asolo Theater, Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, FL 34243

Tickets: Free with a reservation

Funding for BDI’s 2025–26 Discussion Series is provided by the Zella I. and Junius F. Allen Fund and the Edward K. Roberts Emerging Needs Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

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