In 1971, approximately twenty Chinese Americans met in St. Louis with K.L. Wang, who travelled to several cities to promote the creation of a national advocacy organization for Chinese Americans. The League of Chinese Americans, St. Louis, registered with the State of Missouri on February 21, 1973, and William Chang served as its first president. K.L. Wang and Alex Mark organized a national convention in Washington, D.C., in June 1973, at which bylaws and a constitution were adopted. The League of Chinese Americans, St. Louis, was one of three original chapters. In 1985, the chapter changed its name to Organization of Chinese Americans, St. Louis Chapter (OCA-STL). It changed its name once again in 2019 to OCA advocates St. Louis. In 2013, the national organization, Organization of Chinese Americans, officially changed its name to the OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA). Presently, “there are over 80 chapters and affiliates across the U.S. working on behalf of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent as an organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States” (OCA advocates St. Louis website). The OCA is not about one ethnic group; it serves Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.