Legacy

Youth protestors, undated. 

The Youth Leadership Project left an indelible mark on CAAAV. While focused on the empowerment and education of youth, the YLP was not only concerned with "youth issues," but rather mobilized young people to recognize the issues facing their community as a whole and organize in a way that made use of their language skills and cultural knowledge.

Around 2008, the YLP began envisioning the establishment of community center dedicated to supporting the Southeast Asian community in the Bronx. 

According to the Spring 2008 issue of the Voice, the center would offer Eastern health services such as acupuncture, a resource center to provide referrals to public services, a community garden, and generally serve as a hub for the YLP's programs and organizing.

This center, named the Mekong Southeast Asian Community Center, would serve not only the Bronx, but also Southeast Asian communities in New Jersey and Connecticut who lacked institutional support. 

The YLP eventually dissolved as former members re-organized with their community to establish Mekong NYC in 2012. 

Since then, youth organizers at CAAAV have also re-organized into CAAAV Youth, a growing chapter of working-class youth organizers who continue to play a vital role in raising political consciousness, developing campaigns, and taking direct actions to defend the rights of Asian Americans in New York.