Chapter History
1995 through 2004 - What a Decade It Was!
The year was 1995 - the year that Netscape went public and started the Internet boom, and the O.J. Simpson trial was the topic of conversations. Sadly, it was also the year that 168 people perished in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing.
The Birth of Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Seattle Chapter
Locally, the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) made history too. The OCA Greater Seattle chapter (OCA-GS) was born in 1995. It is a testament to one person's perseverance. When Jack Peng joined The Boeing Company (Boeing) in 1991, he noted from the Boeing Management album that Asian Pacific Americans (APA) accounted for less than 2 percent of Boeing's management. “I counted them!” exclaimed Jack. Given the number of qualified APA employees in this aerospace behemoth, he surmised that Boeing had a glass ceiling.
Jack was determined to establish a local OCA chapter to address the problem. Jack approached Winnie Lee to lead the formation because she could personally relate to the glass ceiling effect and had just retired from Boeing. OCA-GS recruited the initial critical mass of members largely from the engineering profession and those affiliated with Boeing.
The Early Years
During the first two years, OCA-GS' goal was to establish direct communication links with major corporations and State government agencies to promote advancement of qualified APA employees. To that end, the Board compiled a list of APA for distribution to appropriate businesses and state agencies for them to consider promoting those people into management. OCA-GS also conducted seminars highlighting the Asian contributions in business and communities, and their management and technical expertise, to enhance our overall images to the mainstream community. The OCA-GS supported OCA National's civil rights work, but the Board decided not to take an active role unless the issue originated in Washington State.
This singular focus was largely inspired by the bipartisan Federal Glass Ceiling Commission's March 1995 fact-finding report titled “Good for Business: Making Full Use of the Nation's Human Capital.” To encourage dialogue on the issues identified in the report, OCA-GS hosted a Glass Ceiling symposium featuring Henry Teng, a member of the Glass Ceiling Commission. Additionally, OCA-GS and the Chinese American Association for Professionals held a joint conference on “The Changing Work Force of the 21st Century and Its Impact on Chinese/Asian Americans.” Then, OCA-GS followed-up with a dinner meeting keynoted by Emmy winner Deanna Lee, then the international news producer for ABC News/Nightline. She addressed non-traditional career opportunities for APA.
Adopting a Broad Civil Rights and Advocacy Focus
With growing membership and the infusion of new Board members, OCA-GS began in 1997 to expand its focus to the broader Asian community's needs. This timely transformation enabled the organization to effectively respond to I-200, an initiative to eliminate affirmative action in Washington State. OCA-GS, along with the Japanese American Citizens League, founded the Asian Pacific American Coalition for Equality (APACE). Wang Yung, as President of OCA-GS, co-chaired the NO 200, Washington Coalition Against I-200. During the campaign OCA-GS hosted a rally and fundraiser featuring Julian Bond and Daphne Kwok, then NAACP Chair and OCA Executive Director, respectively. Even though I-200 passed with 58 percent of the votes, the APACE successfully muted I-200 proponents' efforts to use APA personal successes as a wedge to divide the communities of color.
The momentum of OCA-GS' civil rights work continued as it addressed numerous Washington State civil rights issues. When the national campaign finance scandal involving Asian donors to the U.S. Presidential election occurred, the local Asian community experienced a backlash. An editorial columnist for the Seattle Times wrote several articles alluding to “questionable” fundraising activities of Governor Gary Locke and played upon negative stereotypes. In response, several community members, including OCA-GS, met with the editorial staff of the Seattle Times to raise our concerns about fair and accurate reporting, and the possible chilling effect on the political involvement of our local Asian community. OCA-GS hosted a discussion on “Campaign Contribution Scandals” during the Association of Asian-American Studies National Conference at the University of Washington.
In 1998, members of the chapter were instrumental in organizing demonstrations protesting a demeaning and racist caricature of a Chinese man that hung at the entrance to ObaChine Restaurant. The protest drew attention to the continual ridicule and negative stereotyping of Chinese.
When a group of white men waved the confederate flag, yelled racial slurs, and physically threatened Asians and an African American at Ocean Shores in the summer of 2000, OCA-GS representatives met with the Ocean Shores city and law enforcement officials, and urged the FBI to investigate the attacks as possible hate crimes. OCA-GS issued a new release regarding the request to the FBI and asked APA to think twice before visiting Ocean Shores. Consequently, the Ocean Shores incidents attracted national attention about hate crimes against APA Americans. In the same year, OCA-GS organized a local rally calling for appropriate due process for Los Alamos scientist Wen-Ho Lee. In 2001, OCA-GS launched the OCA National on-line petition against Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) for their racial t-shirts and organized a local protest against A&F, and established the chapter's hot line.
In 2003, OCA-GS implemented a pro-active, rather than reactive agenda, by establishing programs to address the underlying causes for hate crimes and problems associated with racism. OCA-GS hosted a Roundtable on Racial Profiling and won a competitive grant from the City of Seattle for its Hate Crime Conference. An outcome of the Hate Crime Conference is the 2004 OCA-GS sponsored play “The First Day,” based on the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court desegregation decision, performed by the Orca Elementary School children. Both the Roundtable on Racial Profiling and Project Stop Hate are now OCA-GS' annual signature events.
For its work, OCA-GS has earned the community's respect and recognition. At the Asian community's request, in 2004 OCA-GS spearheaded the effort to address the cultural inaccuracies in the Washington Language Proficiency Test. OCA-GS successfully resolved the issues and gained the support of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Aside from the individual cases/projects, OCA-GS has represented the APA community at the King County Racial Profiling and Police Accountability Task Force, and has monitored the King County Election Office's compliance with Section 203 (Language Minority Voting Rights) of the Federal Voting Rights Act (FVRA); and encouraged civic involvement via voter registration drives and informed participation in the political process via the candidates' forums. At the urging of OCA-GS, King County Elections Office hired a bilingual Chinese Outreach worker and administrative specialist to help ensure compliance with Section 203 of the FVRA. Moreover, the chapter successfully lobbied the county to include an OCA-GS representative on the King County Elections Oversight Committee, a body created to review and make recommendations regarding voting operations and procedures.
In addition to taking on core civil rights issues, OCA-GS initiated events to showcase our cultural heritage and APA contributions to the U.S. Some of the events include, among others:
· Bringing the Angel Island Traveling Exhibit “Gateway to Gold Mountain” to the Seattle Public Library
· Hosting a screening of the PBS Series, “Ancestors in the Americans”
· Hosting the national unveiling of the Year of the Tiger stamp in Seattle
· Honoring Asian Pacific Islander WWII Veterans with a screening of the documentary “We Served with
Pride”
· Hosting Luan Jujie, 1984 Olympic Gold medalist in fencing, who shared a message of perseverance and
courage in overcoming race-based odds.
The most significant OCA-GS cultural event is the Golden Circle Awards/Lunar New Year celebrations. The first awards were presented in February 2000. The genesis of the Golden Circle was to honor the unsung elders and/or organizations and their lifetime contributions to the Chinese community. To showcase our rich Chinese culture, the 1999 Board decided to present the awards in conjunction with Chinese New Year.
OCA National Convention in Seattle
Buoyed by its accomplishments and momentum, OCA-GS successfully won the bid to host the 2001 OCA National Convention in Seattle. This was a major milestone, and for some a turning point for OCA-GS. The event demonstrated to the OCA National leadership OCA-GS' strength, and how well it collaborated with all the local civil rights organizations. The workshops featured numerous Asian speakers and the entire Asian community, young and old, participated and supported the conference. Some positive outcomes from the convention included the establishment of new connections with the local business community and the interest and involvement of college students.
Guiding OCA's National Direction
Over the last decade, OCA-GS presented three separate resolutions to OCA National in an effort to encourage the organization to take a righteous and courageous course. Two of the three resolutions dealt with the contentious issue of accepting financial support from tobacco companies. Even though OCA-GS was unsuccessful in both attempts (2002 and 2003), we declined local donations from tobacco and alcohol companies.
The third resolution was associated with Ward Cove Alaskan cannery workers. When the Civil Rights Act of 1991 passed, Congress, for political expedience, specifically omitted the rights of Ward Cove cannery workers. As a result, 2,000 colored cannery workers at this one remote Alaskan cannery continued to suffer from low wages, inferior living conditions, and overt workplace racism. At OCA-GS' urging, OCA-National passed a resolution to support efforts to rectify the injustice.
Most recently, the Greater Seattle chapter led OCA's efforts in advocating for a fair trial in the Tennessee custody case involving Anna Mae He, a little Chinese girl. OCA-GS wrote the amicus curiae brief for submission to the Tennessee Appeals Court, and made a financial donation to help the He family in their struggle to obtain the return of their daughter.
Achieving the Pinnacle of OCA Recognition
OCA-GS' disciplined work ethic in embracing OCA's mission and serving the greater Seattle community has been validated. During the past two years, the chapter reached new heights and made OCA history by winning National Chapter of the Year for 2003 and 2004. This is the first time in OCA's 31-year history that a chapter has won this award in back-to-back years
.
It also won:
1st place in Program and Project, 1st place in Economic Development, 1st place in Membership,
and 3rd place in Community Involvement,
Planting Roots and Cementing Our Future
OCA-GS' accomplishments are remarkable considering it is operated by volunteers. To ensure OCA-GS' longevity, Mei-Ling Woo ardently states, “A healthy organization can't solely rely on people. We must build the infrastructure and let the system run.” As such, the Board has been building the infrastructure. Beginning in 1999, OCA-GS instituted the annual all-day Board retreat to strategize and formulate goals and work plans. Sponsored by the State Farm Insurance Company, we formalized the internship program with stipends for the interns in 2001. OCA-GS achieved the most significant milestones in 2003, by opening an office in Chinatown/International District, and hiring its first staff in 2004.
The OCA-GS Family
OCA-GS attracts passionate members, some of whom elect to assume a leadership position. The multi-talented members hold diverse and progressive views, which generate thought provoking, spirited, but healthy discussions. The Board is committed to operate with transparency and unwavering devotion to our mission.
Started as an organization to address the glass ceiling, OCA-GS is now on a short list of “can do” civil rights organizations. As we embark on the next decade, Jack Peng lamented, “The progress on breaking the glass ceiling has been very incremental without many positive results.” However, we have made monumental strides in numerous areas. OCA-GS is a premier civil rights organization recognized by elected officials, businesses, and the community. We have moved from a reactive to a pro-active grassroots organization. More importantly, the community has an advocate that it can rely on to protect the rights of APA, and to secure equal justice and open access.
OCA-GS' prospects are bright. May the first decade provide the foundation for a trajectory to bigger and better things. We acknowledge all past Presidents for their leadership, all past Board members for their bold vision, all volunteers for the mundane but necessary work, and all members for their contribution and steadfast support.
Past Presidents
1995 & 1996 Winnie Lee
1997 Wang Yung
1998 Margaret Yung
1999 Manny Lee
2000 Maxine Chan
2001 Wang Yung
2002 Susanna Chung
2003 & 2004 Mei-Ling Woo
2005 Doug Chin
Founding Board Members
Tim Chen
Susanna Chung
Tom Dao
Casey Fung
Conrad Lee
Winnie Lee
Jack Peng
Joan Tai
David Tang (Legal Counsel)
OCA - GREATER SEATTLE CHAPTER