On September 21, 2006, history was made in the Asian Pacific American community when OCA national president Ginny Gong put her signature on over 20 pieces of documents to complete the purchase of our building in Washington, D.C.
This is a defining moment not only for OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the political, social and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans, but for the entire community. In 1973, OCA was the first national APA organization to incorporate and establish a headquarters in Washington, D.C. Now, OCA will be the first group to acquire a building and a permanent presence in our country’s Capitol.
The permanency is significant because OCA has dedicated the past 33 years to provide an effective national voice and advocate on policies and issues that impact the lives of APAs nationwide. The stability of a permanent home is a necessary and critical step for continued growth and for securing resources to meet the challenges ahead for our community.
From a Humble Beginning
OCA was founded by Kung Lee Wang and Alex Mark with the mission of advocating for the civil rights of Chinese Americans. After operating out of Wang’s home, in 1977, OCA moved into its first 100-square-foot office on Rhode Island Avenue after our first executive director, Hayden Lee, came on board. OCA moved within a few years and the new office on I Street was an improvement with almost 200 square feet.
Over the years, OCA has grown from the three founding chapters (Washington, D.C., Detroit and St. Louis) to 80 chapters and college affiliates nationwide. At the same time, the scope of OCA’s work has evolved as a result of demographic changes. The reality is that our advocacy work and programs affect and impact the entire APA community. Through the past decade, the voice of the community was strengthened as a direct result of the coalitions developed among many APA organizations with diverse focus and expertise. OCA was a founding member of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, APIA Vote, and, in recent years, the APIASF scholarship fund.
OCA has also dedicated many resources to creating opportunity for APA youth. With the support of our corporate partners, chapters and individual supporters, OCA was able to provide many unique scholarship opportunities and leadership conference in Washington for local leaders, as well as conduct hate crime workshop in local communities and leadership training programs on college campuses. Currently, OCA also offers the largest summer internship program for APA college students to gain experience in congressional offices and federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
Vision for the Future
OCA is proud of its past accomplishment, but is concerned about what we can do to build a promising future for the next generations. OCA strongly believes that the key to the future of the APA community lies in the continuity of stewardship — passing the torch from one generation of leaders to the next. In this past year, our vision crystallized, and the resolution to establish the OCA National Center for Asian Pacific American Leadership was adopted.
The OCA National Center will function not only as headquarters for OCA, but also a place to share resources, a home away from home for all Asian Pacific Americans to learn about legislations impacting the community, access information on federal agencies, catch up on the latest APA publications, or simply a place to meet.
On January 12, 2007, we welcome everyone to join us as we celebrate the opening of the OCA National Center. And, if you share our vision of leaving a legacy for the future generation, we hope you will consider giving us support and be part of the construction team for the future. For more info, please visit www.ocanationalcenter.org
Claudine Cheng is the chair of the OCA National Center Campaign and a past national president.