Our Stories in Our Voices: Oral History of Oakland Chinatown Organizing Across Generations

Saturday, August 1, 2026 1-4 pm FREE Our Stories in Our Voices: Oral History of Oakland Chinatown Organizing Across Generations is a community program celebrating the people, organizations, and movements that helped shape Oakland Chinatown’s rich history of advocacy, leadership, and community building. Through oral history, personal storytelling, and intergenerational dialogue, this program will explore Oakland Chinatown’s historical legacy with a special focus on Asian American youth organizing, leadership development, social services, and the struggles for social justice and equality during the transformative decades of the 1960s and 1970s. The program will feature a keynote presentation by Gregory Yee Mark, who will share reflections on his family’s historic legal legacy, including the Byron Mark laundry case, as well as the founding of the East Bay Chinese Youth Council and other pioneering community initiatives that helped transform Oakland Chinatown during a period of significant social change. Following the keynote address, a panel of community leaders, historians, and longtime organizers will share stories from organizations and institutions that have contributed to Oakland Chinatown’s growth and resilience across generations. Topics will include youth programs, community advocacy, family histories, social services, cultural preservation, and neighborhood organizing. Register for Free Tickets ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS Gregory Yee Mark was born in Oakland, CA and raised in Berkeley and Oakland. In 1969, while a student at University of California, Berkeley, Greg organized the first Asian American conference, Asian Experience In American: The Yellow Identity Symposium. Also, at Berkeley, he was a student striker to create Asian American Studies in which he has taught for over 55 years. In spring 1969, he founded the Lincoln School Tutorial Program. The Program provided academic assistance for hundreds of immigrant students and expanded the tutorial/counselling program to Westlake Junior High and Oakland Tech High School. In August 1969, Greg Played a major leadership role in developing the East Bay Chinese Youth Council and served as its founding President. The Youth Council established a number of community based programs and worked with organizations such as the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Chinese Presbyterian Church, the Oakland Public Schools, and the Suey Sing Benevolent Association.