Join us for an inspiring and impactful evening on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 PM ET for a special election edition of DJ the Vote, featuring AANHPI advocate and rapper @jasonchumusic! This unique event combines civic engagement with musical celebration, bringing together the AANHPI community to make a difference in the upcoming elections.

The upcoming November election could significantly impact the sustainability and growth of the innovation ecosystem. What will this ecosystem look like under a new Democratic or Republican administration? Which policies will be prioritized?

Join us on September 10th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. to hear from political and policy experts from various perspectives as they present potential scenarios and approaches for this ecosystem under both administrations.

Join us on Sunday, August 4th at 2 PM to explore Dr. @sarahsoonling’s book, “Exclusion and the Chinese American History”! Discover the hidden stories of Chinese American history and bring your questions for an engaging discussion and book signing with the author!

Moving Underserved Communities Forward Event Series: Diversity in Media

May 29, 2024

Doors Open: 11:30 AM

Event Time: 12 PM - 1:30 PM (Lunch Provided)

Location:

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)

1 M Street SE

Washington, D.C. 20003

Please join ALLvanza, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), LGBT Tech and OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates for a dynamic discussion on diversity in media and programming. Our panelists will discuss the challenges faced by underrepresented groups in the industry, share strategies for increasing inclusivity, and highlight the profound impact of diverse media representation on shaping societal perceptions. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and to learn how we can all collaborate to build a media ecosystem that is more inclusive and equitable.

Chinese Americans in Hollywood: A Virtual Conversation with Authors William Gow and Katie Gee Salisbury

Date: May 22, 2024

Time: 8 PM - 9:30 PM ET

Location: Zoom

Chinese Americans have been involved in the movie business since its earliest days, whether as extras, leading actors like Anna May Wong and Keye Luke, or Oscar-winning cinematographers like James Wong Howe. Join us virtually on May 22nd at 8 PM ET for a presentation on Chinese Americans in early Hollywood with William Gow, author of Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community, and Katie Gee Salisbury, author of Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, followed by conversation and audience questions, moderated by Jenny Cho.

Those in attendance will have a chance to receive free copies of William Gow and Katie Gee Salisbury’s books! Use the code GOW20 to receive 20% off your purchase of “Performing Chinatown” when ordering directly from Stanford University Press.

This event is co-hosted by OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, OCA-Greater Washington, D.C. chapter, and 1882 Foundation.

Questions? Contact Kent Tong at kent.tong@ocanational.org.

About "Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community" by William Gow

In 1938, China City opened near downtown Los Angeles. Featuring a recreation of the House of Wang set from MGM's The Good Earth, this new Chinatown employed many of the same Chinese Americans who performed as background extras in the 1937 film. Chinatown and Hollywood represented the two primary sites where Chinese Americans performed racial difference for popular audiences during the Chinese exclusion era. In Performing Chinatown, historian William Gow argues that Chinese Americans in Los Angeles used these performances in Hollywood films and in Chinatown for tourists to shape widely held understandings of race and national belonging during this pivotal chapter in U.S. history.

Performing Chinatown conceives of these racial representations as intimately connected to the restrictive immigration laws that limited Chinese entry into the U.S. beginning with the 1875 Page Act and continuing until the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. At the heart of this argument are the voices of everyday people including Chinese American movie extras, street performers, and merchants. Drawing on more than 40 oral history interviews as well as research in more than a dozen archival and family collections, this book retells the long-overlooked history of the ways that Los Angeles Chinatown shaped Hollywood and how Hollywood, in turn, shaped perceptions of Asian American identity.

Performing Chinatown will be released May 14, 2024. You can pre-order the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Thriftbooks, and Walmart. Use the code GOW20 to receive 20% off your purchase of Performing Chinatown when ordering directly from Stanford University Press.

About the Author

William Gow is an Assistant Professor at California State University, Sacramento, and a community historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, a non-profit in Los Angeles Chinatown.

About "Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong" by Katie Gee Salisbury

Before Constance Wu, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, or Lucy Liu, there was Anna May Wong. In her time, she was a legendary beauty, witty conversationalist, and fashion icon. Plucked from her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong rose to stardom in Douglas Fairbanks’s blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad. Fans and the press clamored to see more of this unlikely actress, but when Hollywood repeatedly cast her in stereotypical roles, she headed abroad in protest.
 
Anna May starred in acclaimed films in Berlin, Paris, and London. She dazzled royalty and heads of state across several nations, leaving trails of suitors in her wake. She returned to challenge Hollywood at its own game by speaking out about the industry’s blatant racism. She used her new stature to move away from her typecasting as the China doll or dragon lady, and worked to reshape Asian American representation in film.
 
Filled with stories of capricious directors and admiring costars, glamorous parties and far-flung love affairs, Not Your China Doll showcases the vibrant, radical life of a groundbreaking artist.

Not Your China Doll is now available. You can purchase the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, Powell's, Target, and Walmart.

About the Author

Katie Gee Salisbury has spoken and written about Anna May Wong on MSNBC, in the New York Times and in Vanity Fair. She also writes the newsletter Half-Caste Woman. She was a 2021 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship finalist and gave the TED Talk “As American as Chop Suey.” A fifth-generation Chinese American from Southern California, she now lives in Brooklyn. This is her first book.

OCA is proud to support the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) at their Legislative Leadership Summit taking place May 13-14, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Our Executive Director Thu Nguyen will appear on the panel “The Monolithic Mistake - Digital Literacy in AA & NH/PI Communities” on Monday, May 13th at 1:25pm-2:05pm.

Session Description:

Although studies have shown that 95% of English-speaking AA & NH/PIs use the Internet, suggesting high levels of digital access and literacy, these studies often need to be more extensive in scope and obscure key inequities within our communities. Surveys conducted in English and online that aggregate data of over 20 different ethnicities select for people who are likely already connected and provide a skewed perspective on broadband access in our communities. Over 50% of Burmese Americans have less than a high school diploma and have a median household income of $39,730. Nearly 70% of Bhutanese Americans are SNAP recipients, and 37% of Pacific Islanders are enrolled in Medicaid or other public insurance programs. These indicators suggest that there are likely millions of AA & NH/PIs for whom the digital divide has yet to be bridged, and more work needs to be done. This panel will explore the importance of the Affordable Connectivity Program, data disaggregation, and other programs in achieving digital literacy in the AA & NH/PI community.

Learn more and purchase tickets to APAICS’s Legislative Leadership Summit at www.apaics.org/legislative-leadership-summit.

2024 APAICS Legislative Leadership Summit Overview

The 2024 APAICS Legislative Leadership Summit brings together nonprofit and corporate leaders, subject matter experts, as well as local, state, and federal elected officials to discuss important issues that affect the Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community and the nation at large. Past events focused on issues, policies, practices, and trends in the AA & NH/PI community in an environment that facilitates solution-oriented dialogue and building public service pipelines in communities of color.

2024 Legislative Leadership Summit Details

DAY ONE

Monday, May 13 | 8:00AM-5:00PM

Walter E. Washington Convention Center

801 Allen Y. Lew Place NW, Washington, DC 20001

DAY TWO

Tuesday, May 14| 8:00AM-2:00PM

The Royal Sonesta Washington, Capitol Hill

20 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001

Join OCA National and OCA-New York on Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 3 PM to 4:30 PM ET for this special APA Heritage Month virtual conversation with Ava Chin—author, performer, and professor—as she talks about her new memoir Mott Street, about the impact of the country’s first immigration restrictions, the Chinese Exclusion Act, on four generations of her family in NYC’s Chinatown. Publisher's Weekly called Mott Street "stunning" and The New York Times described it as "sensitive, ambitious, well-reported." Chin will be in conversation with OCA-New York's Interim Co-President, Darci Wen Siegel. Two lucky attendees will receive a free copy of the book!

About the Book

As the only child of a single mother in Queens, Ava Chin found her family’s origins to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father, and her grandparents’ stories didn’t match the history she read at school. Mott Street traces Chin’s quest to understand her Chinese American family’s story. Over decades of painstaking research, she finds not only her father but also the building that provided a refuge for them all.

Breaking the silence surrounding her family’s past meant confronting the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—the first federal law to restrict immigration by race and nationality, barring Chinese immigrants from citizenship for six decades. Chin traces the story of the pioneering family members who emigrated from the Pearl River Delta, crossing an ocean to make their way in the American West of the mid-nineteenth century. She tells of their backbreaking work on the transcontinental railroad and of the brutal racism of frontier towns, then follows their paths to New York City.

In New York’s Chinatown she discovers a single building on Mott Street where so many of her ancestors would live, begin families, and craft new identities. She follows the men and women who became merchants, “paper son” refugees, activists, and heads of the Chinese tong, piecing together how they bore and resisted the weight of the Exclusion laws. She soon realizes that exclusion is not simply a political condition but also a personal one.

Gorgeously written, deeply researched, and tremendously resonant, Mott Street uncovers a legacy of exclusion and resilience that speaks to the American experience, past and present.

Mott Street will be released April 23, 2024. You can pre-order the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, Powell's, Target, and Walmart.

About the Author

Ava Chin is the author of Mott Street, a 2024 ALA Notable Book and a Best Book of 2023 by TIME, the San Francisco Chronicle, Kirkus, and Elle, and the award-winning Eating Wildly. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times (“Urban Forager”), Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, SPIN and VIBE, among others. She has been awarded fellowships from the NYPL’s Cullman Center, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar’s Program, NYFA, and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. She is Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the City University of New York, and the head of American Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. The Huffington Post called her one of "Nine Contemporary Authors You Should Be Reading."

Learn More about Ava at avachin.com.

Exciting News from the K-12 Task Force!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the K-12 AANHPI Curriculum Project website! Join us on March 21st for an exclusive walkthrough and a live Q+A session.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, March 21st

• Session Times:

  • First Session: 1:00 PM (PST) / 4:00 PM (EST)

  • Second Session: 4:00 PM (PST) / 7:00 PM (EST)

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore our new website and have your questions answered by the K-12 Task Force. Mark your calendars and be part of shaping the future of education!

Join us on December 5, 2023 in Washington, D.C. from 12 PM to 1:30 PM ET for a discussion on the critical importance of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding. Our panel of experts will discuss BEAD funding and its pivotal role in shaping a more equitable and connected future, particularly for underrepresented communities.

Please email OCA's Policy & Organizing Manager Eric Kim at eric.kim@ocanational.org to RSVP or if you have any questions. Lunch will be provided!

Location: 601 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite #400, Washington, D.C. 20001

Doors Open: 11:30 AM ET

Event Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM ET

Join us on Thursday, November 16th at 8 PM ET for a virtual conversation with author Amy Yip as we discuss her just-released book “Unfinished Business: Breaking Down the Great Wall Between Adult Child and Immigrant Parents.” We’ll be giving away signed copies of the book to a few lucky viewers!

Too often, we hesitate to ask our parents about their lives, held back by mistaken beliefs or past conflicts. With warmth, wit, and vulnerability Amy Yip explores the profound influence her parents had on her life and offers you a roadmap to navigate conversations with your own parents.

In “Unfinished Business,” Amy takes us on a heartfelt journey from detachment to deep connection with her own parents as she delves into the stories she holds about them; from “My success will never be good enough for my parents” to “I must be mentally tough and never ask for help” and everything in between. She illuminates the power of conversation as she invites us to see the world through her and your parents' eyes. By engaging in meaningful dialogues and taking the time to truly understand their experiences and struggles, we discover that our parents are not just figures from our past, but complex individuals with their own hopes, dreams, and fears.

Each chapter provides a framework of self-reflective prompts, practical tips, and thought-provoking questions to ask your parents, empowering you to embark on your own journey of connection. Because, regardless of the generation we belong to, we all long to be heard and understood. And that includes our parents.

OCA Reads: A Virtual Conversation with Amy Yip is co-hosted with American University Asian Networks Association, Amherst College Asian American Writers’ Group, The Georgetown Anthem, Asian Pacific Americans for Action at Cornell University, Asian American Students in Action at Williams College, Brandeis Asian American Student Association, East Coast Asian American Student Union, Georgetown University Vietnamese Student Association, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Asian American Students Association.

About the Author

Amy Yip is a Somatic Life Transformation and Mental Fitness coach, keynote speaker, author, and self-confidence trainer. She works with women of color leaders to strengthen their mental fitness, heal intergenerational wounds, find their voice and the courage to speak up, and have agency to let go of all the ‘shoulds’ so that they can be the authors of their own life stories. Her mission is to empower AAPI women to be seen, to be heard, and to f-ing rock the boat.

Amy is an International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach, a Certified Hudson Institute Coach, a Certified Strozzi Institute Somatic Coach, and a pioneer Mental Fitness Coach certified through Positive Intelligence.

Amy received her MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and her BS in computer science and BA in communications from the University of Maryland.

Amy resides in Maryland with Greg, her best friend and husband, and her son Logan, the cutest kid ever.

Learn more about Amy Yip and her work at amyyipcoaching.com.

Join us for our AAPI Digital Access Survey Result Webinar on August 24 at 4 pm ET! This presentation will be delivered by our Broadband Access & Digital Equity Fellow, Yen Jeong, who will share the key findings and recommendations from the survey based on data collected from over 8,200 AAPI households.

Learn how to promote equal digital access for all!

In memory of Vincent Chin, we gather with academics, elected officials, and community organizers to reflect on the different ways we can respond to hate and discrimination that are proactive and inclusive.

As part of our ongoing conversation about policies and initiatives that impact underserved communities, please join ALLvanza, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), and LGBT Tech, on June 13th at 12pm, for an in-person conversation on spectrum policy and the impact on underserved communities.

Spectrum policy plays a pivotal role in shaping access to wireless communication and technology, impacting various aspects of our daily lives. However, the effects of spectrum policies on underserved communities are often overlooked. Through an engaging and informative discussion, this panel will demystify spectrum policy fundamentals while highlighting the ways in which underserved communities can benefit from and contribute to this key issue. The goal is to find tangible solutions to the current spectrum policy challenges so we can work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive digital future for all.

Join us for a happy hour event at Maketto to welcome OCA 2023 summer interns and all AANHPI interns! This is a great opportunity to network, socialize, and celebrate our diverse community. Plus, all the proceeds from the event will be split between OCA and Maketto to support their recovery from the recent break-in.

Don’t miss this chance to have fun and make a difference!

2023 marks 50 years of OCA - Asian Pacific American advocacy, community building, and youth programming. To celebrate, OCA National is conducting a fundraising event.

This fundraiser is to raise money for our volunteer-run OCA chapters: 35 chapters located in 24 states across the country that provide direct services, cultural events, and policy advocacy for each of their local AAPI communities, including the OCA-Greater Washington DC chapter.

In the past few years, we've been working to address language access during the COVID-19 pandemic and counter anti-Asian rhetoric and hate incidents. Now, we're focusing on AANHPI curriculum in K-12 schools, digital literacy and digital access, as well as voting rights. You can learn more about our policy platform here.

We are also raising money to give scholarships to low-income AANHPI high school and college students to attend our convention, "Organize. Connect. Act!" for their advocacy and professional career development. Learn more about our annual convention at www.ocanationalconvention.org.

This event will be available to view in-person in Washington, DC and virtually via Zoom. RSVP using the links below. We hope you will be able to support us as we celebrate OCA's legacy!

In-person events will take place at various locations and dates/times:

Friday, May 19th events:

• 6:30 PM-9 PM ET at Sudhouse DC (1340 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009): Pie event (Pie your favorite OCA staff members!) and bidding of Anna May Wong quarter! **Please note that there will only be light snacks and drinks provided on Friday. Happy hour items are available to purchase at Sudhouse.**

Saturday, May 20th events: POSTPONED!

Where does AAPI advocacy and environmental sustainability intersect? How are they related? What can we do about it? Surprisingly enough, both are connected in important ways that we may not even realize.

To dive deeper into why that is, join this month's OCA National Conversation 'Sustaining Our People & Our Land'.

Calling on parents, kids, and fans of Maia and Alex Shibutani! The Olympic ice dancing medalist sibling duo are coming to DC and we want you to come out to meet them in support of their new book, AMAZING: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All, at Busboys and Poet 14th and V St.

RSVP is required to reserve your spot to meet the ShibSibs.

To honor Women's History Month, OCA's National Conversation Series next webinar is entitled “Celebrating AAPI Women Pioneers!”

We’ll be featuring AAPI women leaders of different backgrounds and experiences. Please join our conversation to hear from exceptional modern-day 'sheroes' who paved the way in their respective fields to open doors for AAPI women everywhere.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now becoming a part of our society, and if it is developed responsibly, it has the potential to make quality of life more equitable for underserved communities by improving city infrastructure, healthcare access, and enabling businesses. However, the lack of understanding, education and access to AI, as well as lack of diversity in the development of AI, can pose a threat to underserved communities.

As part of our ongoing conversation about policies and initiatives that impact underserved communities, please join us on March 14th at 12pm, AT&T Forum in Washington, DC, for a conversation on AI and its impact on vulnerable communities.

To kick off our 50th Anniversary Celebration year, OCA will be hosting a monthly virtual series entitled "OCA:Organizing, Connecting, Acting.”

Our opening session will be "Equity and Power Building.” For the past 50 years OCA has been advocating at the local and national levels the issues of concern impacting the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. As we embark on our next 50 years and we build on the foundation that has been laid, the next stage is the work needed to get equity for our communities as we continue to build our collective power.

Join us on Feb 10th at 3 pm ET for the AAPI Digital Access Survey Launch Webinar followed by a live Q&A session with representatives from the OCA National team.

We will review the details of the AAPI Digital Access Survey and share ready-to-use materials that can be used to engage your community. Also, we will explain how organizations can become official partners of the project.

The goal of this webinar is to gain a better understanding of the AAPI Digital Access Survey project and take collective action to identify the digital divide among AAPI communities.


Moderator: Thu Nguyen - Executive Director at OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates
Opening Remarks: Joanna Diaz Soffer - Principal External Affairs Manager at T-Mobile
Presenter: Yen Jeong - Broadband Access & Digital Equity Fellow at OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates

Each year, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates recognizes AAPI leadership in the corporate sector through the Corporate Achievement Awards (CAA). Established in 1991 by OCA’s Business Advisory Council, the awards are the first of their kind to celebrate Asian American corporate excellence and achievement. Over the course of three decades, roughly 250 leaders and over a dozen corporate partners have received honors.

This year’s celebration includes two special virtual panel discussions followed by our virtual gala on November 3, 2022.

Schedule:

2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET
Panel #1: Entering the Workplace in 2022

2:30 PM PT / 5:30 PM ET
Panel #2: Optimizing Effectiveness of ERGs/BRGs

3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET
Corporate Achievement Awards Ceremony

#EmpoweringOurVoices #OCACAA2022

OCA National is hosting an online DJ the Vote event on October 17th and October 31st from 4:00 to 5:30 pm Pacific Time. Join us for an afternoon of amazing music and activism! We will be gathering on zoom in efforts to phone and text bank to get out the vote, all while AAPI artists from across the country will be performing some of their latest hits. Attendees will have the opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card! In addition to this, the chapter that turns out the most participants in both events will receive a special prize, so don’t miss out!

As more of our economic, educational, and social activities are conducted online, privacy and online security become increasingly important to individuals’ constitutional rights, to our cultural and community life, and to our economic strength as a nation.

Join ALLvanza, MMTC and OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates on October 25th, 2022, at 4pm EST for a timely conversation about the state of cybersecurity, the ways marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable, how we can work together to educate people on threats they might face online, and what career opportunities these challenges can provide to members of all communities who are interested in helping to promote solutions.

OCA National is hosting an online DJ the Vote event on October 17th and October 31st from 4:00 to 5:30 pm Pacific Time. Join us for an afternoon of amazing music and activism! We will be gathering on zoom in efforts to phone and text bank to get out the vote, all while AAPI artists from across the country will be performing some of their latest hits. Attendees will have the opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card! In addition to this, the chapter that turns out the most participants in both events will receive a special prize, so don’t miss out!