Hmong American

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A Hmong American is a resident of the United States who is of ethnic Hmong descent. Hmong Americans are one group of Asian Americans.

Many Laotian Hmong war refugees fled to America after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at this time under the Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong had immigrated. This first wave was made up primarily of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to immigrate to America, becoming the second-wave of Hmong immigration to the U.S.

The 2000 U.S. Census counted 169,428 persons of full Hmong ancestry and an additional 16,882 of partial Hmong ancestry. Today, the number of ethnic Hmong living in the United States is likely between 200,000 and 250,000. Most Hmong Americans live in the states of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.^[1] There are also significant communities in Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Fresno, California, Madison, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area have especially high concentrations of Hmong.

The population of Hmong in each of the 50 states from highest to lowest, according to the 2000 U.S. Census:

The 2000 U.S. Census reveals that only 40% of all Hmong/Mong above 24 years of age have ever graduated from high school, as many of them came to America as adults or young adults. About 7% of Hmong/Mong have a bachelor's degree or higher. The lack of formal education among Hmong/Mong immigrants is due to the fact that many were once farmers in the hills of Laos and had little or no access to schools. In addition, almost 40% of Hmong/Mong families are under the poverty level. Although they remain one of the poorest Asian ethnic groups in the U.S., many second-generation children have performed well in schools as compared to other low-income ethnic groups. Hmong/Mong-American children born in the United States usually have much better access to education than their parents and thus have better economic opportunities than their parents would have had in Laos.

In many of the large cities where Hmong/Mong Americans live and work, tensions have risen up between them and neighboring ethnic groups. Hmong/Mong people have often been targets of discrimination, mainly because of job competition and stereotyping of them as welfare dependents. Many of their persecutors justified their actions by claiming that they unnecessarily took jobs, welfare money, and other services away from long-time residents. [1]

Even though most Hmong/Mong families speak a language other than English at home, many Hmong/Mong Americans are rapidly blending into mainstream American society, and many young people are losing aspects of their cultural identity at a fast pace. Because of this, the Hmong/Mong community has set up associations and media that encourage people to maintain language and culture. These associations and media include the Hmong National Development and the Hmong Times newspaper. The Hmong National Development (HND) is a national, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization. The goal of HND is to build capacity, develop leadership, and to empower the Hmong American community. HND works along side with local and national organizations, public and private entities, and individuals to encourage educational opportunities, to increase community capacity, and to develop resources for the well-being, growth, and full participation of Hmong in society. There is an annual HND conference which usually takes part during the month of April and is held in a different state each year. The Hmong Times publishes communications products for the Hmong community. These products are designed to provide important information to the Hmong community, as well as tools to promote unity in the Hmong community. The Hmong Times also informs the general community about the Hmong community. Having a newspaper like the Hmong Times creates a source for businesses, organizations, and schools to connect with the Hmong community.

As with other immigrant groups, some cultural conflicts arose when the Hmong arrived in the U.S. after the Vietnam War. One of the better documented conflicts is in medicine. In Anne Fadiman's nonfiction book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down one such conflict regarding a young Hmong girl's health is documented. (The girl's parents saw her seizures as a divine gift, whereas Western medicine views them as a dangerous medical condition. The conflict was further exacerbated by communication issues and cultural reliance on alternative medicine.) The book is often used in studying cross-cultural medicine, although there are reservations about its contents.^[2]

In 2002, Mee Moua became the first Hmong-American legislator when she was elected to fill the Minnesota State Senate seat vacated by Randy Kelly when he was elected mayor of St. Paul. She is currently a majority whip.

[edit] See also

• Asian Americans
• Hmong people
• Laotian American
• List of Hmong Americans

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&lang_id=722&mode=lang_tops
2. ^ http://www.hmongnet.org/publications/spirit_review.html

[edit] External links

• "Acts of Betrayal", by Michael Johns, National Review, October 23, 1995.
• Foreign Born Population by Country, U.S. Census Bureau, 2000.
• LearnAboutHmong.com via the Hmong Cultural Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman.
• Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center
• Hmong Studies Journal
• WWW Hmong Homepage

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