Honoring shared histories: Lunar New Year and Black History Month at CYC
The history of Black and Asian communities in the United States includes moments of collaboration that shaped civic life in lasting ways. In 1963, Yuri Kochiyama stood beside Malcolm X in his final moments. In cities across the country, Black and Asian organizers worked together around housing rights, labor protections, and immigrant justice. The late Rev. Jesse Jackson consistently called for multiracial coalitions, arguing that progress in American cities would depend on communities recognizing their interdependence.
These moments do not simplify history. They reflect the steady work required to build trust across difference.
February brings Lunar New Year and Black History Month into conversation. At Community Youth Center, this overlap is approached with care. Each tradition holds its own history and meaning. At the same time, the month offers an opportunity to create spaces where cultures are honored alongside one another in neighborhoods across San Francisco.
This year, CYC participated in several public celebrations that reflect that approach.
In Bayview, the 16th Annual Black History Month and Lunar New Year Celebration at the Bayview YMCA brought families together for performances, food, and cultural activities. Bayview’s long history as one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods gave the gathering added weight. The event reflected something practical: neighbors showing up, sharing space, and recognizing the histories that shape their community.
Thank you to our sponsors, Chinatown Community Development Center, Mayor’s Office of Housing and Development, New Breath Foundation, North East Medical Services, Recology, Sutter Health, Wu Yee Children’s Services, and YMCA, for making this event possible
On Ocean Avenue, Lunar New Year festivities marked the Year of the Horse with music, arts activities, and small business participation along the corridor. Families moved between booths and performances, reinforcing the role that neighborhood corridors play in sustaining local identity and economic life.
We’re grateful to our sponsors for making this possible, Airbnb, Avenue Greenlight, District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, Civic Joy Fund, Copy Edge Digital Printing, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, City College of San Francisco, Ocean Avenue Association, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), and Waymo.
Young people will march alongside community members in San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade, one of the city’s most visible public celebrations. For participating youth, the parade is an experience of representation—walking through city streets in cultural dress, carrying banners, performing music, and standing visibly within a tradition that spans generations.
Across these events, the emphasis remained steady: cultural pride expressed publicly, in shared civic spaces.
Throughout the month, youth and staff also engaged in conversations about history and identity. Some discussions focused on shared experiences of discrimination and migration. Others acknowledged differences in language, culture, and historical experience. There is no single narrative that captures Black–Asian relationships, and CYC does not treat celebration as resolution. Understanding develops over time, through listening and continued engagement.
CYC continues to learn in this work. Building cross-cultural understanding is ongoing and requires humility, curiosity, and attention to local context.
As February concludes, the focus is not on a symbolic moment but on what these gatherings represent: a city shaped by many communities, and young people growing up with the opportunity to honor their own histories while participating in the broader civic life of San Francisco.