Yik Oi Huang

Yik Oi Huang
Born(1930-02-15)February 15, 1930
Taishan, Guangdong, China
DiedJanuary 3, 2020(2020-01-03) (aged 89)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
OccupationCommunity advocate
Known forYik Oi Huang Peace & Friendship Park

Yik Oi Huang (February 15, 1930 – January 3, 2020) was a Chinese-American community advocate in Visitacion Valley, San Francisco. A city park was named in her memory in 2022.

Biography

Huang was born in Taishan, Guangdong, China. She married Ho Wei Huang and had four children. The Huangs moved to the United States in 1986, to be near their daughter and grandchildren there. In San Francisco, she became a naturalized United States citizen, worked as a seamstress and nanny, and bought a home with her family in Visitacion Valley. She was known for doing daily exercises at Visitacion Valley Playground, and as an ambassador for the Visitacion Valley Friendship Club, helping other Chinese immigrant seniors access help with citizenship, food assistance, rental agreements, and emergency preparedness. She was known as Grandma Huang, or Huang PoPo, to the younger people in the neighborhood.[1][2]

In January 2019, Huang was attacked at the playground while doing her usual exercises. She died from her injuries a year later, at the age of 89, in a long-term care hospital in San Francisco.[3][4] A teenaged suspect was arrested within days after the event,[5][6] In November 2025 he was found guilty of her murder and other violent crimes.[7][8]

Legacy

California State Senator Scott Weiner read Huang's story into the state's legislative record in January 2020.[9] Huang's murder stayed in the news after her death, in connection with Stop Asian Hate rallies in San Francisco and in other American cities.[10][11] Visitacion Valley Playground was named Yik Oi Huang Peace & Friendship Park in 2022,[2][12] "as a visible tribute to an Asian immigrant working-class woman".[13] Mayor London Breed spoke at the park's re-dedication in 2024, as did Huang's granddaughter Sasanna Lee, and several other city officials.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Peace in Vis Valley, SF - Who is Yik Oi?". Remember Yik Oi Huang. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  2. ^ a b Yik Oi Huang Peace & Friendship Park, San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.
  3. ^ "89-Year-Old Woman Dies A Year After Brutal Beating In SF Park". CBS San Francisco. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  4. ^ "Grandmother brutally beaten a year ago dies from injuries". Record Searchlight. 2020-01-07. pp. A6. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Barba, Michael (2019-01-24). "Suspect in Visitacion Valley Linked to Crime Spree". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. A6. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ DeBenedetti, Katie (2025-09-23). "Activists Say Suspect in 'Grandma Huang' Killing Shook the Asian Community". KQED. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  7. ^ "Suspect found guilty in killing of 'Grandma Huang'". NBC Bay Area. 2025-11-05. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  8. ^ "San Francisco man found guilty of murder in brutal beating of elderly woman exercising". KTVU FOX 2. 2025-11-04. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  9. ^ California Senate Democrats (2020-01-28). CA State Senate Adjourns in Memory of Yik Oi Huang. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Lin, Shannon; Blume, Howard (2021-03-21). "Hundreds in S.F. rally against racism". The Los Angeles Times. pp. B3. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Alfonseca, Kiara; Webb, Alysha; Kim, Julian (March 3, 2023). "Anti-Asian racism still haunts San Francisco community". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  12. ^ Li, Han (2022-05-19). "Park's Renaming Turns Site of an Asian American Woman's Brutal Attack into a Symbol of Unity". SF Standard. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  13. ^ "Park Where a Grandmother Was Killed Will Bear Name". Standard-Speaker. 2024-06-16. pp. B6. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "San Francisco park where a grandmother was fatally beaten will now have her name". AP News. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
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