It is no surprise that the Vietnamese-American community has always been affiliated with political activism. Despite the diverse political parties and organizations that our community is aligned to, politics has always been deeply rooted in our culture, thus enriching our community to be both politically conscious and aware. As a result, the Vietnamese American community is … [Read more...] about Jacqueline Nguyen, First Vietnamese American to be Nominated as US Federal District Judge
Women and Gender
Topless Baristas Detected in a Local Coffee Shop in San Jose, CA
Stumbling onto this article might have invoked some sort of déjà vu, right? Remember our recent headline about Vietnamese coffee shops in Southern California being shut down for having provocative and scantily clad women as employees? Well, similar situation in this article. Just 370 miles north from Garden Grove, policemen recently found three female baristas in their … [Read more...] about Topless Baristas Detected in a Local Coffee Shop in San Jose, CA
Kelly Truong Banh: Miss California, Miss Congeniality, and Miss Philanthropy
Kelly Truong Banh, 24 years old native of San Jose, California and alumni of the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), was recently crowded Miss Congeniality and 2nd Runner-Up at the Miss National US Scholarship Pageant. She also received the President’s Award from the president and staff of Miss National US Incorporated (MNUS) for being the contestant whom MNUS … [Read more...] about Kelly Truong Banh: Miss California, Miss Congeniality, and Miss Philanthropy
The Oppressor from Within
[The characters and incidences in this story are fictional, drawing from stories based on real occurrences in the Vietnamese community. However, the phenomena illustrated by the story are very real. More on that later.] It happened again. Lan’s breath shortened as that old familiar feeling of imagined prison walls closing in crept up on her. Here we go again, she thought. … [Read more...] about The Oppressor from Within
Of Shame and Pride: Confronting My Vietnamese Identity
It was July 2002 when I stepped out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and into the streets of Saigon, revisiting my homeland and my past. The heavy humid air bore on me and my skin began forming beads of sweat. Here it was, the Vietnam that I had so missed when I first came to America in 1992 — the noisy crowded streets, the musty air, and the people who spoke my native … [Read more...] about Of Shame and Pride: Confronting My Vietnamese Identity