‘When our community falls, we feel it.’ Hmong community grieves after Fresno shooting
More than a week has passed since four men were killed in shooting in a Fresno backyard, leaving families to grieve, and those in the Hmong community, who share their pain, were shaken by the still unexplained burst of violence.
The four Hmong men were among about 30 people, many clad in football jerseys, who had gathered to watch Sunday NFL games, participating in a fall American pastime.
Kou Xiong, 38, lived at the home. He, and Xy Lee, 23, Kalaxang Thao, 40 and, Phia Vang, 31, died.
The shooting rattled the Hmong in California. Musicians are to gather 7 p.m. Friday for a memorial fundraiser at an open mic night at Rice Bowl Restaurant in Sacramento, to raise funds for the victim’s families. According to the Facebook post the event is more of “an alliance within our community” instead of a traditional concert.
“We shall send a message together that we must stand united in these dark times. Our community will need time to heal but we must heal together,” the post reads.
Paha Xiong, 23, who grew up in Sacramento, said the distance between Sacramento and Fresno, and nationally, closes with the cultural connection and the concern for safety for the Hmong community.
“When our community falls, we feel it across the nation. “ she said. “If it can happen to them, it can happen to us too.”
Xiong has worked with the Full Circle Project, a program at Sacramento State to guide students seeking resources, academic support and leadership opportunities. She grew up in Sacramento, which has a significant Hmong population.
In Sacramento County, the Hmong population was 26,324 as of 2010, the fifth largest group among the diverse Asian American community. California has the largest Hmong population in the U.S., followed by Minnesota.
Many settled in California’s Central Valley. Sacramento and Fresno are the two cities with the largest Hmong population in the state.
Fresno authorities established a gang task force to identify the gunmen behind a mass shooting, although no motives have surfaced. Police are still searching for the shooters.
“It hurts that the mention of a gang task force stains our community once again, pushing and strengthening our stereotype that is not true,” said Bobby Bliatout, community leader in Fresno and CEO of a local non-profit community clinic.
He emphasized that the victims were career-minded professionals.
The talk of gun violence
Gun violence is not new to the community, said Nancy Xiong, organizer of Hmong Innovating Politics, a non-profit based in Sacramento founded by Hmong women organizers that promotes voter engagement and youth leadership.
“There is a lot of processing for our young people,” she said.
Xiong said talks about possible gang involvement minimized the larger conversation of how gun violence plays a part in the community.
“What is the response from the community? We have not seen much on how they are providing space for these communities to heal,” she said.
“The gun violence epidemic that our country is facing happens in all communities and the negative impacts occurring in communities of color are particularly impacted,” Xiong added.
She noted that the victim’s families were having a family gathering, and there will be more as the Hmong New Year celebrations begin Friday through Dec. 1 in Sacramento.
Who are the Hmong?
The Hmong are industrious farmers who lived autonomously in remote areas of China and later in the mountainous regions of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Many have immigrated to the U.S. since the 1970s as refugees to escape from facing persecution being identified as U.S. allies in the Laotian Civil War and the Vietnam War. The census estimates the Hmong population was around 309,564 in 2017.
The Hmong have a clan system based on their 18 surnames. For example, a Hmong person takes his or her father’s clan name and becomes a clan member for life, with the exception of women who marry and join their husbands’ clans. Each clan provides “the basic form of social and political organization for Hmong society” and possesses its own set of rituals and traditions.
According to Nancy Xiong, many Hmong people live in and near the Meadowview area in south Sacramento; a smaller group is concentrated at Del Paso Heights neighborhood in North Sacramento.
The average age of the Hmong population is 21, Xiong said.
Tight-knit community
Xy Lee, who was a popular entertainer in Fresno, was loved by many in the community, including Paha Xiong.
Lee posted music videos in Hmong on his YouTube channel which has more than 94,000 subscribers. Lee had performed in many Hmong New Year celebration events, and was to perform at a concert Friday hosted by Deevsiab Records in Sacramento.
Lee had previously collaborated with Sacramento singer Dang Thao. Thao dedicated a song in Hmong to Lee on Youtube.
“You will forever be in our hearts and I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again,” Thao wrote in the video description.
An increasing number of Hmong people between ages 40 to 55 get the news from live-stream videos of speakers talking about recent news on YouTube as well as Hmong radio talk shows.
Suab Hmong BroadCasting and Hmong TV Network are popular TV channels for news and other programs available on Youtube and online.
Facebook amplified the connections of the tight-knit community, Nancy Xiong said.
“We still need a lot of healing. We are all trying to find answers,” she said.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 5:30 AM.