Workshop aims to empower Vietnamese community
SAN JOSE >> When the young, progressive activists of the grassroots organization VietUnity were approached about creating a workshop to get local Vietnamese more civically engaged, the group was inspired to take things a step further.
Starting Saturday, close to 30 South Bay residents will participate in San Jose’s Vietnamese American Civic Leaders Academy, a seven-part seminar by VietUnity and the Office of Immigrant Affairs in which they’ll learn how to better access city resources. But the sessions will also include discussions on gender justice, racism, housing, education, immigration and deportation — topics that haven’t always been openly addressed in the Vietnamese community, particularly among older generations.
“We tried to bring together the goals from the city and also our own goals to organize our community to resist systemic oppression and so many of the other issues we face,” said Giao Tran, a leader with VietUnity.
“San Jose is really fascinating because it feels like the city and larger region has been wanting more political activism and more work from Vietnamese folks, but we’ve been dealing with our own struggles and just haven’t gotten there yet,” she added. “I feel like everyone has been waiting for this.”
Each session will be geared toward a particular topic and will include presentations from local community organizers and city officials in various departments. Organizers hope it’s a starting point to better connect with San Jose’s Vietnamese residents, whom make up one of the largest groups of Vietnamese in the United States.
Former San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen hopes the seminar gives birth to a new political movement — with Vietnamese Americans at the forefront.
“I hope this group looks at the importance of engagement and starts to build that pipeline so that it encourages more Vietnamese Americans to run for public office,” she said.
San Jose Councilman Lan Diep said he’s gratified the Office of Immigrant Affairs is reaching out to Vietnamese constituents.
“We’re 10 percent of the population and we’re generally very insular,” he said. “It’s great that we’re attempting to develop the next generation of civic leaders.”
Diep said the sessions will help community members have frank discussions about meaningful topics that are often overlooked.
“Because of our culture, often times people don’t discuss these things publicly,” he said. “It’s not that we don’t experience them, but we’re shamed or perhaps it’s not proper to discuss things publicly.”
Added Nguyen: “Even today, as younger Vietnamese become more progressive, these issues remain controversial in our com-
munity. I believe these issues impact a lot of lives in the Vietnamese immigrant community and it’s great to bring that out and discuss them.”
It’s a hope that Tran shares, as VietUnity and other organizers look to inspire a new generation of activists.
“I hope this really further ignites a new era of leadership in the Vietnamese community that addresses so many issues that we’ve been struggling
to address for so long,” Tran said. “I hope it creates a space for folks where they feel that they have a hub to go to, where they can organize and feel like they can empower themselves and everyone around them.”