July 22, 2019
Linh Kochan, PIVOT Member
Are you American born? Are you naturalized American? Are you white? Are you non-white? Where are you on the ladder of American privilege? How many times have you been told to "go back to your country?"

Trump has said it. If you don't like America (i.e., the America under Trump), leave! Go back to where your ancestors came from! He directed it first at the four minority congresswomen then broadened it to the rest of America to a crowd that shouted to an American born citizen, "Send her back!"

July 8, 2019
PIVOT proudly announces that we are endorsing Dr. Tam Dinh, a candidate for Mercer Island, WA School Board Position 5, and currently an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Social Work Program at Saint Martin’s University. Dr. Dinh, the only candidate with professional experience in education, has been involved over the last 25 years at the local and state level in providing services and advocating for policies that reflect and address the education and mental health needs of Vietnamese Americans. She believes her education, mental health expertise, and advocacy background would be an asset on the School Board to help address the increasingly complex needs of a growing, diverse student population via the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.

July 4, 2019
Bee Nguyen

From Bee’s Facebook post:

Every July 4, I’ve celebrated the story of my family’s migration and the birth of my older sister, the very first American in our family. She turns 40 years old today.

This year feels different.

July 3, 2019
Thang Do, PIVOT Board Member
Like many Vietnamese Americans, I left Vietnam to come to the United States. For quite a few years, I had viewed myself as a refugee, with a temporary connotation associated with the term: I only escaped the dangers of my old country to seek safety and protection. What about the future? Life’s prospects were foggy at the beginning, so not many of us bothered contemplating the future, although we all knew that returning to our homeland was not a possibility.

June 20, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President 
My mother died recently. One of her illnesses robbed her of the ability to remember around the time I was old enough to want to know about her life before I was born. Even before that, her stories were just a way to teach me a lesson. They always ended with “that’s why you shouldn’t…”

During one of my mother’s lucid moments, I asked about how she felt when, at the age of 14, she rowed a boat on the river to go sell vegetables at the market in Hà Tỉnh. She said she was scared. And there was a certain man who worked on the dock that she tried to avoid being alone with at night.

June 12, 2019
We stand in support of Bee Nguyen, State Representative for Georgia House District 89, and her criticism of inflammatory statements made by an associate professor of history at Georgia Gwinnett College about undocumented immigrants. In a Facebook post, Fang Zhou called undocumented immigrants “ghetto thugs and criminals” and “illiterate uneducated intellectually inferior.” He also states that “deportation of illegals is so beautiful and lovely to see. It is sweet justice for me.” Mr. Zhou also reported that he consistently educates his students about “the financial burden of illegal immigrants” and “the high crime rate of illegal immigrants.”     

June 3, 2019
PIVOT proudly announces that we are endorsing Kathy Tran for her re-election campaign. Kathy Tran was one of the first few candidates that our organization supported in 2017. When Kathy was elected to the VA House of Delegates (42 District) in 2017, she flipped a seat that was held by a Republican for 24 years. In her short two years there, she has helped pass Medicaid expansion to 400,000 Virginians, gave teachers a pay raise, advanced redistricting reform, and fought for women’s reproductive health care. We are thoroughly impressed with what a powerhouse she has become. Even the House Democratic Caucus recognized this and tasked her with the role of Finance Co-Chair, where she is committed to supporting candidates across Virginia and flipping the House this November 2019.
We strongly encourage you to donate to her campaign or contact us to help with voter outreach for Kathy Tran's re-election.

May 22, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President  
Since 1992, the month of May has been designated by the U.S. government as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). It is a time to remember the history of Asians in America and to celebrate their culture and accomplishments. Coincidentally, APAHM immediately follows April 30th, the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the Vietnamese diaspora. To some extent, Vietnamese Americans should feel that APAHM is a remembrance and celebration of our arrival to America and our contributions to this great country.

May 6, 2019
Thu Quach, PIVOT Board Member
My beloved mother passed away on October 16, 2005. She was only 58 years old. In those years, she had survived immense poverty, the birth of five children, the loss of her second son, a war, a perilous escape on a small boat with three young children for days at sea, living in refugee camps, and resettling in a foreign land where she barely spoke English. Yet, it was cancer that finally took her down. Just thirteen months after her diagnosis, she was taken from us. But even after her death, her impact continued.