By the late 1960s, a new generation of political activists emerged in Berkeley from protests opposing the Vietnam War and supporting the Farmworkers, Free Speech, and Civil Rights movements. In May 1968, in an apartment on this site, Yuji Ichioka and others founded the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA). AAPA sparked the nationwide Asian American Movement: uniting Americans previously divided by ethnicity— Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and others—and stereotyped as “Orientals” or “silent minorities.”

AAPA joined African American, Latino, and Native American groups in the Third World Liberation Front, which led the 1969 Third World Strike at UC Berkeley. The strikes here and elsewhere spurred the creation of ethnic studies and social justice programs and encouraged community self-determination.

This plaque was placed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of AAPA and the Asian American Movement.