During the early 1970’s Chinese Americans had no national organization to unite their population into one voice. There was already a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) but there was nothing for the Chinese American citizens. With oppression from earlier events such as the various Chinese immigration acts, it seemed about time that the Chinese Americans would step up and try to fight for their rights. This struck Kung-Lee Wang along with a group of people to found the Chinese American Leadership Council in September of 1971. This group traveled across America advocating the formation of a national organization for Chinese Americans. Their work led to the formation of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) in 1973 with Kung-Lee Wang becoming the first president of OCA.
The organization was the first and is still the only national Chinese American civil rights organization in Washington D.C. Though it started small, it has grown and now has 50 chapters across the U.S. Their goal to establish a united voice for Chinese Americans was successful and they now reach out and work for all Americans with Asian or Pacific Islander descent.This time period was when Asians were stereotyped as more quiet, this organization rallied together to have a voice in government and try to fight for rights. They showed that Asians will also fight to have their civil rights. The organization also helped move towards having more Chinese Americans participate in government and political affairs. It was a stepping stone for more Chinese Americans to participate and led to them taking positions in politics such as March Fong Eu, secretary of state of California who served four terms and was the first Asian American woman for such a spot. Another figure was Shien Biau Woo who was elected as Delaware’s Lieutenant Governor in 1984. They integrated with American society and found themselves in positions where they could help other Asians and represent the race. The organization helped show other Americans that Asians are also capable of being active in politics as well as other areas and are not just stereotypically passive.
OCA had called for an Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week and congress passed the resolution in 1978 which was celebrated the first week of May. This solidified the Asian American presence in America as something that could not be removed and has in fact become a part of society just as much as everyone else. The heritage week has now become a heritage month and is still celebrated by Asian Americans today. Along with this OCA also fought for Asian Americans to be included in all the federal minority opportunity programs so that they could receive assistance from the government.
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