Demand justice for #AhmaudArbery https://t.co/ZmLiBbZeCp. This made Hmong men prime suspects to cops, who labeled them criminal and dangerous. “[Community policing] has worked in some ways, [but] it also continues to reinforce this perception that these communities are dangerous,” Vang says. Like many Black Americans, Hmong youth were over-policed, stereotyped as gang members, and victimized by the institutional failures that fueled the school-to-prison pipeline.

That officer is 34-year-old Tou Thao. He had worked since he was 14 years old, first at McDonald’s, then Cub Foods, and then as a security guard while taking community college courses. This conflict came to be known as the Secret War, “secret” because Laos had been designated a neutral territory, though that didn’t stop the U.S. from dropping 270 million cluster bombs over the country (some of which remain undetonated and "live" and kill people to this day). Then he learned Chauvin, the officer who was stepping on Floyd’s neck, was rumored to have a step son named George Xiong. Minneapolis’ Communities United Against Police Brutality reports that six complaints have been filed against Thao, but no disciplinary action was taken. Around 28 percent of the Hmong population in the United States lives in poverty, compared to 15 percent of all Americans. The disproportionate number of incarcerated Hmong men helped set off an imbalance between Hmong men and women in higher education. Over the course of his police career, he racked up six civilian complaints, including one for severely beating a Black man.

Asian-Americans who have bought into the idea of us as model minorities still cannot grasp that the discrimination of Black people around the world has been what informs the racist systems that discriminate against other people of color and actively pit us against each other. I was more disappointed in my community than anything else.”, The threats, she continued, made her more determined not to be silenced. You have entered an incorrect email address! Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story. “A lot of people saw their mother in Fong Lee’s mother,” said Lee. Like Kim’s twitter thread, the statement also listed meaningful ways in which Asian Americans could demonstrate solidarity. The first Hmong refugees to arrive in the United States around 1975 were the families of fighters recruited to the U.S.-supported army. As many Asian Americans are speaking out about this hate, we must also show up for the African American community,” Advancing Justice, AAJC said.

Family pleads for search to resume for missing professor, Police investigate racist note to Asian mom of twins, Car crashes into Chinese restaurant in Seattle, Justin Chon is Coming Home Again in Wayne Wang film, A clear choice: AsAmNews endorses Biden Harris, It’s time to realize our potential and vote, OC family endures months of abuse from ‘racist neighbors’. As they waged war on behalf of the United States, their population was shattered by war casualties. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As George Floyd lay struggling to breathe, Officer Tou Thao had the opportunity and the authority to stop the situation. Unearth your internalized anti-Blackness 3. AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. As Southeast Asian refugees were resettled in the United States, most were scattered across the country in the poorest neighborhoods, often side-by-side with communities of color. “We are grieving for George Floyd’s family because we know,” Autumn Yang wrote. Go to our  Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck in the video of his death has been identified as Derek Chauvin. But for many Asian-Americans like myself, there’s another lingering image from that fatal encounter—the face of the Asian officer who stood by and did nothing as Floyd was violently choked to death. “But they also become part of the system, where they can get caught up. “Please do not message me with threats.”, Xiong said the message has given him “a lot to think about.”. Often, these financial hardships were the background conditions for more crime, perpetuating the idea that Hmong Americans were inherently violent and backwards. TOU Thao, an ex-Minneapolis cop who was charged in George Floyd's death, has been released from jail. In America, there are only 18 clans of Hmong, an ethnic group from Laos, Vietnam and parts of China that sided with the United States during the Vietnam War. This influx of refugee aid for migrants who reminded Americans of “the enemy,” coupled with economic recessions in the early '80s, fueled resentments about how Southeast Asians were supposedly getting too much help, even though financial support for many families disappeared after a few months. The lawsuit claimed that the two officers had no probable cause. In the Video George Floyd the Victim screams “I can’t breath, I can’t breath”, but Thao does nothing as he walks around as his fellow Officer continues to Pin down Floyd. Others include 13-year-olds Ba See Lor and Thai Yang, who were shot in the back with a shotgun by a suburban police officer in 1989; 29-year-old Jason Yang, who police say jumped off a freeway off-ramp to his death while fleeing officers in 2010; and 52-year-old Chiasher Vue, who was shot by police in his home in 2019. Donate to orgs serving Black communities 6.