What's up Chicago? I'm Erin Allen and this is Curia City.

In our last episode, we talked about the history of Chinatown family associations

and how they've evolved over the decades to meet the needs of Chicago's Chinese community.

We also heard about how these associations are struggling to recruit the younger generation.

When you're young, you want to explore, and you may not immediately associate with

folks that are from your own family or from your extended family.

And family associations have a reputation of being old school.

That's Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese-American

Community. She came to Chicago as a college student in the 1980s, and she bypassed the

family associations at that time for your typical young person reasons. One, that was something of her grandmother's generation.

And two, she wanted to explore the city on her own. Of course, now, Grace sees the value family

associations still hold in the community, including their social services. But today, we're going to

talk about a different kind of organization in Chinatown.

One that is not necessarily vying for younger members.

This type of group isn't based on a family name or a region in China.

Instead, these nonprofits work to empower residents around the issues and concerns they have in common, including something really top of mind right now, immigration enforcement.

There are a few organizations in the area with this focus, and today we're going to talk about the one that Grace leads.

The Coalition for a British-Shaneous American Community balances between civic engagement and public policy, advocacy, and community

planning and development to make sure that we have a vibrant and equitable community.

Like the family associations, the coalition for a better Chinese American community grew out of

a need.

It started out as an advocacy organization in 1998 when the founder, C.W. Chan, wanted to bring the community together around larger issues. The issue that he was most passionate about at that time

...