Open Letter for More Civic Engagement

Dear Vietnamese American Youth,

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are the fastest growing ethnic group in the country. For this reason, our voices are more important now than ever in building an inclusive American society for our community. In a world where health care, immigration, and education policies have an increasingly profound impact, we must ensure we understand how these policies affect our friends and families, especially as these policies are being evaluated throughout the next several months on a national level. Here are a few important such policies:

• The Affordable Care Act (abbreviated as ACA or known as “Obamacare”), which has granted an estimated 20 million Americans easier access to health insurance coverage, even for those with pre-existing conditions.
• The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has given undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors an opportunity to attend school and to work without fear of deportation.
• The Trump administration’s school choice proposal to vastly expand charter and private school options by implementing a voucher program, which, according to the Government Accountability Office, would “exacerbate inequity by directly draining critical funding ($20 billion) away from public schools — often the schools that need that funding most.”

One of the most meaningful ways we Vietnamese Americans, as part of the AAPI community, can take charge of our political awareness is through civic engagement: working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivations necessary to make that difference. As defined by Stanford Professor Thomas Ehrlich, civic engagement means “promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.” Youth organizations like Vietnamese Student Associations (VSAs) and larger network community organizations such as Unions of Vietnamese Student Associations (UVSAs) can make a significant impact in Vietnamese communities across the country by educating and priming their members to become civically and politically engaged leaders within their respective communities. What notably makes these organizations special is the opportunity for their alumni to come back and be a part of that preparation for future leaders.

We, as alumni of several different Vietnamese youth organizations across the country, ask everyone to prioritize the creation, strengthening, and incorporation of civic engagement activities as part of your core leadership development efforts — both at the local and national levels. We believe increasing civic engagement educational opportunities should be a fundamental component of local, regional, and national Vietnamese leadership conferences and summits. We also believe this is essential in helping constituents become more civically and politically engaged. In a political climate with highly elevated tensions, now more than ever is the time for Vietnamese Americans to unite and work at the forefront to ensure our communities are informed and prepared to address possible changes.

The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA), UVSA, and VSA conferences and summits have been the cornerstone of leadership development and have served as an inspiration to Vietnamese American youth across the nation. These spaces provide a great opportunity for our constituents to be exposed to, learn about, and participate in civic engagement. Civic engagement is essential to leadership development as we strive to nurture leaders who are well-informed and are capable of advocating for our communities.

The nature of civic engagement activities need not be partisan, and would ideally address the pressing issues our community face today, including the aforementioned health care, immigration, and education policies. The first step is understanding the policies that affect our communities: we need to be able to interpret policies, discuss issues with our peers, and develop the skills and competencies to influence policy decisions. When we have a better understanding of key issues and their effects, we are able to better advocate for our communities.

If you are looking to be more civically engaged, please reach out to your local VSA, UVSA, or related Vietnamese youth organization and help build and start the momentum on civic engagement activities. For those who hold a leadership position within your youth organization and are interested in starting discussions around civic engagement, the following are some examples of how you can incorporate civic engagement within your organizational programming:

• Host a workshop on the foundation and importance of civic engagement, with historical examples of where desired changes have followed as a result
• Convene a roundtable discussion on the possible impacts of civic engagement with community advocates, elected representatives, etc.
• Run a simulation on creating and running a campaign on a college campus, including petitioning and garnering support for a student issue

Additionally, if you are interested in offering yourself as a resource to Vietnamese youth organizations, whether to speak, present a workshop, or provide additional information and resources on civic engagement, please complete the form at the following link to be entered into our civic engagement contacts database at http://bit.ly/signcivicopenletter.

You have a large resource of veteran members from various community organizations who are willing and eager to provide you with the support you need to accomplish this goal. Should you require any assistance (e.g., finding speakers to discuss civic engagement, finding topics to discuss with your group/organization, etc.), please feel free to reach out to us using our emails — we are here for YOU.

It is more important than ever for our community to be vigilant, unwavering, and united.

Sincerely,

Dedicated Alumni

Amber Nguyen, Former President, MAUVSA

Anh Nguyen, Former President, UNAVSA

Arlene Ho, Former Secretary, UVSA of Southern California

Bao Nguyen, Founder, VIA-1 Conference

Brian Vo, Former President, UNAVSA

Chan Huynh, Board Member and Former President, UVSA Midwest

Crystal Huynh-Kim, Former President, UVSA of Northern California

Dan Huynh, Former President, UNAVSA

Dat Nguyen, Former External Vice-President, UNAVSA

Frank Huynh, Former External Vice-President, UNAVSA

Elaine Hang, President, Asian Pacific Association at Dickinson College

Eric Nguyen, External Vice-President, UVSA Midwest

Gee-Wey Yue, Founder & Former President, UVSA South

Hoang Nguyen, Former President, UVSA Midwest

Hop Hoang, Former Treasurer, UNAVSA

Huy Tran, Former Internal Vice-President, UNAVSA

Jacklin Nguyen, Former Internal Vice-President, UVSA Midwest

Jessica Phan, Chairwoman and Former President, UVSA Midwest

Kathy Trieu, UVSA Midwest

Kim Vu, Former External Vice-President, UNAVSA

Long Nguyen, Former President, MAUVSA

Lucy Tran, Former Internal Vice-President, UNAVSA

Lyana Ton, Former Internal Vice-President, UVSA of Southern California

Michael Nguyen, Former Internal Vice-President, UVSA of Southern California

Minh Tanh Nguyen, Former External Vice-President, UNAVSA

My-Ha Moon, Former Internal Vice-President, MAUVSA

My-Phuong Ly, Former President, UNAVSA

Nick Ngo, Former Secretary, UNAVSA

Phong V. Ly, Former President, UVSA of Southern California

Phong Nguyen, Former President, SWUVSA

Regina Nguyen, Former President, MAUVSA

Rich Tran, Mayor, City of Milpitas, California

Stephen Nguyen, Former President, MAUVSA

Steven Huynh, Board of Advisor & Former President, UVSA South

Tam Phan, Former President, UVSA of Northern California

Thoa Kim Nguyen, Founder & Former President, SWUVSA

Thuc Nguyen, Founder, UVSA Midwest

Tieu-Y Ng, Former Treasurer, UVSA of Southern California

Tina Li, Former President, SWUVSA

Tu-Anh Dang, Former Internal Vice-President, UVSA of Northern California

Tuan Duong, Former President, MAUVSA

Victor Nguyen-Lieu, Former Secretary, UNAVSA

Vinh Tran, Former President, IVSU

Vu Dinh, Former Internal Vice-President, UVSA of Southern California

Vu Thai, Former Executive Secretary, UNAVSA

To sign this letter, please visit: http://bit.ly/signcivicopenletter
To contact any alumni listed here, please visit: http://bit.ly/contact-alumni

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This letter was conceived, written, and edited in collaboration with peers in the AAPI Action Slack group. These words are as much mine as much as they are the signers to this letter. Contribute to the conversation by joining us on slack at http://aapiaction.org