UC Merced’s campus community was represented at Merced County’s Hmong American Day, which celebrated a people’s 50-year journey from war and oppression to acceptance and achievement in the United States.
Chou Her, UC Merced chief of police and assistant vice chancellor, gave the keynote speech at the event, held earlier this month at Castle Memorial Parade Ground in Atwater. Her recounted the life path to his role at the university and encouraged those in the Hmong community to seek positions of leadership and influence.
Her and two others from UC Merced — Professor Ma Vang and Students First Center Associate Director Kong Moua — were honored as pioneers in their respective fields. Vang is the founding chair of UC Merced’s critical race and ethnic studies program.
The San Joaquin Valley is home to one of the largest Hmong populations in the United States, second only to the Minneapolis-St. Paul region.
Fifty years ago, the U.S. military pulled out of Vietnam and Laos. Both nations fell to communist forces. In Laos, Hmong people trained by the CIA to fight the so-called “secret war” against the communist Pathet Lao were exposed to sometimes deadly retribution.
Thousands fled to camps in Thailand, where resettlement programs eventually brought a Hmong diaspora to the United States. The resettlement began in the late 1970s and continued through the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Today, Hmong Americans hold highly visible roles in numerous U.S. sectors. Examples include Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Misty Her, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, Sacramento City Council Member Mai Vang and author Kao Kalia Yang.
