SacBee - Mai Reflects on Hmong-Black Relations in the Aftermath of George Floyd's Murder

Mai Vang, a candidate for Sacramento City Council and a second-generation Hmong American, hosted a Zoom panel about Black Lives Matter a few days after Floyd’s death. Many comments were supportive, she said, but many others accused the speakers of drawing attention away from Hmong issues. A few even posted death threats.Despite the pushback from some community members, several Hmong organizers said the moment has also led to more honest, courageous and sometimes painful conversations addressing the roots and effects of anti-blackness in Sacramento’s Hmong communities.

“Our community members are really struggling to situate themselves in this moment of uncertainty,” Mai Vang said. “It reminds me we have so much work to do.”

“The reason is white supremacy,” Mai Vang said. “We have to question, ‘Why have we lived in those conditions?’… It’s not a coincidence that we grew up in poverty alongside black folks, Latino folks.”

Mai Vang said those conversations could start by underscoring shared struggles with the black community, as well as how they have benefited from civil rights movements led by black people today. 

While Hmong Americans need to acknowledge their trauma and pain, they also need to understand why they have this in common with black communities, Mai Vang said.

Read the full article here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article243402956.html