AALEAD, a non-profit organization with a mission to empower low income Asian American youths through education, was founded in Columbia Heights in 1998 by Sandy Dang to serve D.C.'s Vietnamese refugee families. They originally operated out of a police sub-station at 14th and Irving streets, later moving to a building owned by the Latin American Youth Center. They now serve a multi-ethnic Asian community and have expanded its programs beyond D.C. to Maryland and Virginia. These images represent AALEAD activities dating back to 1996—compiled in 2016 for the organization's 20th anniversary.
Photo courtesy of Sandy Dang and AALEAD
