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 will be a panel featuring community leaders, historians, and longtime organizers Wilfred Lim, Doug Wong, Aimee Eng, Josephine Hui. Moderated by Cheryl Ho, panelists 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.
The event will also feature twelve interactive information and oral history tables representing individuals, families, and organizations that have played important roles in Oakland Chinatown’s development, including the East Bay Chinese Youth Council, East Bay Asian Community Association, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, Asian Health Services, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Lincoln Recreation Center, the Wa Sung Club, OACC’s Oral History Project, the Fong Wan family legacy, the Shoong family, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and others.
Community members are encouraged to bring historical photographs and materials for scanning and preservation as part of ongoing efforts to document and share Oakland Chinatown’s collective history.
By bringing together elders, organizers, families, and younger generations, Our Stories in Our Voices creates an opportunity to honor the voices that built Oakland Chinatown and to inspire future generations to continue its tradition of community leadership and social change.
Program Schedule
1:00 pm: Opening and acknowledgments
1:15 pm: Keynote by Greg Yee Mark
2:00 pm: Speaker panel featuring Wilfred Lim, Josephine Hui, Douglas Wong, Aimee Sueko Eng, and Greg Yee Mark, moderated by Cheryl Ho
2:45 pm: Mixer with Oakland Chinatown Oral History tables
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.
Wilfred Lim was born and raised in Oakland, and attended Oakland public schools through high school. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Criminology, and a Law degree from UC Davis. Wilfred worked as an attorney with the Office for Civil Rights and Department of Education for over 30 years. He was active in EBCYC and EBACA from 1970 through 1973, and has been active with Chinese for Affirmative Action, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, and Asian Law Caucus at different times since law school. Both of his parents immigrated from Toisan, China – his dad in 1933, his mother in 1948.
Josephine Hui is a longtime community leader in Oakland Chinatown. She was one of the grassroots organizers who led the campaign to secure the Oakland Asian Cultural Center as a cultural force in Oakland Chinatown. She served as OACC’s first Executive Director, where she helped establish the organization as a cultural and community resource for Oakland. She currently serves as Vice President of the Toishan Association, and has served on the boards of numerous community organizations such as OACC and OCIC. She also previously served with the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Through decades of leadership and volunteer service, Josephine has worked to strengthen Oakland Chinatown, preserve Chinese cultural heritage, and support future generations of community leaders.
Douglas Wong is the current President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, he is also involved in the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council. Doug worked in Chinatown in the 60’s and 70’s at the Chevron Gas station located at 10th and Webster st. He also worked part time at Center Auto Part during that time period. Doug is a Vietnam Veteran serving 1966-1968. After his service he participated in the Miss Chinatown pageant and the Lunar New Year Parade as a volunteer assisting his dad and the Lodge as needed. Doug has watched Chinatown thrive and become a depressed business area and seen it revive again. He was employed by the Contra Costa Fire Protection District for thirty years and retired as a fire engineer. Doug was the first Chinese hired by the district. He was recently honored for being a Red Cross volunteer for 65 years. He volunteers for many organizations, from food pantries, church, and government and is honored to be asked to serve on this panel
Aimee Sueko Eng is a philanthropic leader and former public servant with over 15 years of experience in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors, primarily focused on children, youth, and families. Aimee’s passion is to ensure that philanthropy strategically leverages its resources to improve systems and services for our community’s most under-resourced populations. Most recently, Aimee was the Director of Strategy and Education Partnerships at the California Children’s Trust, where she supported school districts, county agencies, and community organizations to leverage Medi-Cal funding to expand the children’s behavioral health safety net. Aimee is also on the board of Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream, a literacy non-profit in the Bay Area and Hawaii, and is a co-founder of the Hella Heart Oakland Giving Circle. Aimee holds a B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University and a M.A. in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from Stanford University. Aimee proudly lives in Oakland, California, where six generations of her family have lived. In her spare time, Aimee can be found at her local farmer’s market, chasing her two toddlers around the playground, and harvesting chestnuts on her family’s farm.
Cheryl Ho is the youngest niece of Dr. Gregory Mark. Born and raised in Oakland, she attended Chinese Presbyterian Church in Oakland Chinatown throughout her childhood and teenage years. During high school, Cheryl served on the Asian Youth Services Committee Board and volunteered with the Chinatown StreetFest, demonstrating an early commitment to community service.
A dedicated advocate for Oakland’s Chinatown community, Cheryl has served on the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Board for the past six years. She is also a member of the Wa Sung Community Service Club. Professionally, she works in Public Engagement at the Port of Oakland, where she has also been involved with the Asian Employees Association for many years.
Cheryl and her husband, Dennis Ho, are proud parents of three daughters. Their daughters attended Lincoln Elementary School and participated in the Lincoln Explorers’ Program, reflecting the family’s strong ties to the Oakland community.