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Oakland Chinatown Elders Organizing Collective

Oakland Chinatown Elders Organizing Collective

Asian Health Services, in partnership with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and the Oakland Chinatown Coalition, co-led a five-part experiential learning series in 2024 with 12 Chinese-speaking seniors on comprehensive community safety and healing. The series included field trips to cultural landmarks and community institutions across the Bay Area, including SF Chinese Cultural Center, Baywell Health in West Oakland, and San Quentin State Prison.

LOVE HAS TWO MEANINGS: A SHORT FILM

In “Love Has Two Meanings,” director Kevin Duncan Wong captures the inspiring journey of 12 Chinese seniors as they confront community safety challenges in Oakland’s Chinatown and beyond. Traveling through West Oakland, San Francisco’s Chinatown, and San Quentin State Prison, they seek innovative solutions while fostering intergenerational connections and bridging cultural divides. This poignant short documentary highlights the power of community and the diverse meanings of love in the face of adversity. Produced by Asian Health Services.

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Oakland Chinatown Elders Organizing Collective

1. black panther party museum

At the Women of the Black Panther Party Mural and Mini Museum, the seniors learned about the history of segregation, redlining and displacement faced by the Black community in West Oakland. They also learned about the formation of the Black Panther Party and its community programs and visited Baywell Health.

2. SF International hotel

During their trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown, the seniors learned about the rich history of Chinese Americans in San Francisco. A memorable tour stop was the International Hotel that was a site of struggle and protest against the eviction of elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants from the Manilatown District in the early 1970s.

3. San quentin

The group traveled to San Quentin State Prison, where seniors met incarcerated students from Asian Prisoner Support Committee’s ROOTS program. Through these intergenerational exchanges and conversations, the seniors left with a greater understanding of the root causes of violence and with motivation to support effective reentry and rehabilitation.

4. Sacramento

The seniors traveled to the state capitol with other community leaders and organizations across California to meet with state assembly members and advocate for language access and continued funding for violence prevention work.

5. Restoring Our Communities, Laney College

The seniors learned about the unique situations and challenges facing formerly incarcerated and systems-impacted students at Laney College’s Restoring Our Communities (ROC) program.

Letters to San Quentin

Inspired by the incarcerated students at San Quentin, seniors of the Oakland Chinatown Elders Organizing Collective Series wrote and sent letters of encouragement, expressing support and hope for their future.

Letters From San Quentin

Upon receiving the seniors’ letters, students from San Quentin wrote back in response.

In The Press

‘Unity is strength:’ Oakland Chinatown elders tackle public safety

Asam News

Since Stop AAPI Hate, some Oakland Chinatown residents are rethinking crime prevention

Oaklandside

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In solidarity with over 100 community partners across the US, Asian Health Services mobilized under the One Nation Coalition in 2018 to fight against the harmful Public Charge Rule change and to promote immigrant rights and access to health care.
In 2005, Asian Health Services established the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative to address workplace and reproductive health issues faced by low-income Vietnamese immigrant and refugee workers. In 2016, AHS worked successfully to co-sponsor and pass the California Healthy Nail Salon Bill (AB2125).
In the early 2000s, AHS led a local campaign called "Revive Chinatown" to make Oakland Chinatown safer, more pedestrian-friendly, and economically viable. That resulted in the installation of the four-way scramble crosswalks with other lighting and sidewalk improvements in the Chinatown commercial core.
The 1978 passage of Proposition 13 threatened to eliminate crucial funding to community based organizations. AHS worked in collaboration with local community groups to galvanize our patient base to protest Prop 13 cuts. As a result of community mobilization and protests, AHS preserved critical funds at the County level, which enabled community groups to continue serving the medical needs of the AAPI community.
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