Ruiyu's exhibit explores the evolution of place-based education, or PBE (McInerney, Smyth & Down, 2011), within New York City’s District 1 and Chinatown. Through the Basement Workshop and affiliated organizations, Ruiyu’s project explores localized examples of PBE and their role in facilitating social consciousness development for youth. He highlights the 1970s, when Chinatown community groups grappled with the Vietnam War, police brutality, educational discrimination, and economic struggles. Amid significant neighborhood strife, Ruiyu unpacks how youth-centered local organizations boosted sociocritical literacy and community engagement in nondominant communities. Through oral histories, archival photographs and magazines, and social science concepts like the “collective Third Space” (Gutiérrez, 2011), Ruiyu traces the pedagogical role of local organizations in overcoming apathy and uplifting the everyday experiences of youth in Chinatown. From past to present, churches to basements, and education to advocacy, Ruiyu believes in documenting and honoring the long-lasting legacy of community organizations inspiring generations of advocates, organizers, and storytellers.