HISTORIC STREET NAMING REVEAL — SHERRY HIROTA WAY

Tribute to Asian Health Services, Community Impact Historical Site Once Oakland’s Japantown

Thursday, October 19, 2023 — (Oakland, CA) Julia Liou, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, and Thu Quach, PhD, President of Asian Health Services (AHS), the federally qualified community health center with 12 sites throughout Alameda County, announced today a community event to commemorate and celebrate the historic street naming reveal of Sherry Hirota Way in Oakland’s Chinatown.

This street naming in tribute to an Asian American marks a momentous occasion in Oakland’s history. Aptly, the neighborhood is not only centered in Chinatown and adjacent to several of Asian Health Services’ clinics, but it also highlights the spot that was once Oakland’s Japantown, before Japanese Americans were unjustly imprisoned by the US government during World War II.

Sherry Hirota Way, the block of Alice Street between 9th and 10th Street, is named as a tribute to Asian Health Services’ five decades of community impact and engagement, and its mighty team of professionals and their leadership, service, advocacy, and compassion, then and now.

Helen Zia, journalist, activist, author and longtime Oakland resident conveyed the importance of the street naming, “as founding Chief Executive Officer of our beloved Asian Health Services, Sherry’s mark is felt daily by the 50,000 patients who rely on AHS. Sherry also shines as a nationally renowned leader for language and cultural access, and immigrant rights. She embodies the positive history of Oakland and Alameda County as a courageous voice for multi racial unity,” said Ms. Zia.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee also supported the street naming, “Sherry Hirota embodies the civic spirit and aspirations of my District and Oakland in particular. Ms. Hirota’s steadfast commitment for more than 47 years has enhanced the health, well-being, and safety of our AAPI and all of our diverse communities in Oakland. Ms. Hirota has forged coalitions and led courageous campaigns. She has shifted policies and narratives on local, state, and national levels, from managed care and language access to Public Charge and immigrant rights. Ms. Hirota has helped make a better Oakland and I look forward to walking down Sherry Hirota Way and paying tribute along with my constituency, to Ms. Hirota’s civic leadership, and Asian Health Services’ hard work and impact on behalf of Oakland,” said Congresswoman Lee.