Written by Fong Tran Spoken on June 13, 2015 UC Davis Conference Room You know it’s a southeast Asian function when they turn off the AC and literally make it feel like Southeast Asia So before I go into this talk, I want to say this is a community and community means we affirm each other so any love you show me on stage would help what are some way to affirm the speaker? snaps, word, Hay, the 2015 version is #Yass You all look beautiful Undergrads look great I, on the other hand I look wack There seems to be no incentive to get masters or Ph.D. cause you just end up looking more weird the higher you go up I feel like harry potter with multiple options to fly If not broom stick, then cape if not cape, then useless hemmed up sleeves I was like, who the heck designed these things Southeast Asian Americans are people in the United States whose heritage stems from the historical context of the Vietnam War this year, we commemorate 40 years since the fall of Saigon countries including but not limited to Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam. There are a lot of misconceptions about this community so I’d like to take time break some of them downs one of them is that we’re all the same people one monolith but we’re not we have beautiful diversity that runs deep like the Mekong River we are Lao, Iu-Mienh Hmong, Cham Taidam, Montagnard Sino-Chinese, Vietnamese Cambodian/Khmer and more we are multi-ethnic and mixed first generation, second generation third straight, queer and trans we are different and the same Another misconception is this notion that we’re we’re the model minority a notion that was design to divide us from other communities of color we’re all supposed to be innately successful we’re all good at Math we do everything right with little complain We don’t need additional resources or support we’re just like any other Asians at UC Davis 40% percent on campus however this notion denies the struggles of our people it reduces this very moment of graduation it diminishes all the late nights studying with red bull and boba milk tea running through our veins It subsides stress that we carry when we worry about the realities of rising loan debt and insecure job opportunities it denies the sacrifices of our families that have allowed us to be here today graduates, what you are doing today is remarkable our people are remarkable we’re told that we are the Model minority but trust me when I say there is nothing model about us and there is nothing minor about us we are not model white porcelain sheen everything that we do is unique to us our culture breaths through our food we’re the type of people that put fish sauce in everything we are the type of people that put sriracha sauce on top of everything It’s how we raise chickens and grow mint leaves in our backyards its in the of flow of our 6 step when you first tried to learn how to break dance and its not a traditional Southeast Asian wedding without Hennessey and Heineken everything we do we do in our way It is both Southeast Asian and American we are complex & multi-layered intersectional & whole There is nothing model about us There is nothing minor about us we come from a history of migration & resettlement Of refuge & genocide Of poverty & post trauma we follow the legacies of resistance we follow footsteps of rebels rebels that left everything that they knew with babies strapped on their backs with all belongings in arms crossing rice fields, forests and Mekong rivers filled of land mines escaping on fish boats constantly in endangered by pirates rebels that were born in refugee camps barely surviving off white bread and water we are the descents of soldiers, survivors of farmers & hard working laborers of donut shop workers & waiters of gardeners & seamstresses, of business owners & business hustlas of nail saloon workers & nurses our ancestors can show their struggle and strife in their wrinkles of their hands so by the nature of our lineage we are warriors we are warriors with privilege and opportunity to be the next doctors, lawyers and engineers even though it may disappoint to your parents we will also be the next teacher & social worker artists, fashion designers & entrepreneurs we can be anything and we will be everything our community needs our histories have been silenced and peoples have been fractured Its difficult for us to speak our minds because our minds been colonized, not to speak but if there’s anything that I’ve learned in grad school Its that these stories, our stories are necessary and they need to be spoken so graduates as I have given the chance to speak you must proclaim your power you must declare your resiliency assert your presence in any and every space you are given cause far too often we are made to be invisible in the workforce, in academia, in media, in policy we must speak our stories or someone else will so I’ll start My name is Fong Tran I’m Program Advisor at the Cross Cultural Center I’m a Poet/ Mentor and Batman Enthusiast I’m walking today to be the first in my family to get a Masters degree in Community Development before that, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a major Social Welfare double minor in Education and Public Policy before that, I graduated from Florin High School in South Sacramento before that, I was president of Key Club and Captain of my track team before that, I grew in poverty gang and drug prevalent neighborhoods before that, I had ADHD and it was difficult for me to do well in school before that, my mother suffered third degree burns all over her body that scars her till this day before that, my father left my family when I was in third grade and I’ve been raised in a single parent home ever since From struggle, comes strength From tragedy, comes adversity From Pain, comes love my story, like yours fundamentally have these themes Interwoven throughout our narratives our people Southeast Asian People Understand this concept all too well our histories and our peoples have been broken, battered and disenfranchised we have not only been taught to work hard to earn everything in our lives but we’ve been taught sacrifice but we’ve been taught love through work and not just words Our people have been through war and trauma so we don’t speak love through hugs and kisses so it feels awkward and inauthentic when we say the things explicit things to our families However, I urge you to speak your truth because everything about this world tells you not to do our upbringing has told you not stand out not make waves but you are more than the oceans currents you are the gravitation pull from cycling moons be outspoken be loud Be a champion Do it your own way Be you be authentic be true When you get up here tell a truth that almost makes you want to throw up tell your older brother something you could never say out loud because he’s your brother and you don’t say things like this but tell him you love him that even though he’s made mistakes in his past that you respect him for the man that he’s become and that he inspires you that you’re proud of him that he’s a great father You love him for the way he raises your baby nieces to be happy, to be true You thank you sister in law Chi Loan and thank her for putting up with your brother and that she’s your favorite You tell your eldest sister she is everything a chi hai could ever be a leader, an inspiration that you thank her for going through all the possible struggles in growing up in a new country so that I could grow up feeling like this one is mine you thank her for helping you on the down payment on your first house and that you will pay her back soon but you just graduated so you’re still broke you’ll be afraid to cry in front of your friends and family cause you think they’ll give you a hard time and say real men don’t cry you pause and sincerely tell them men that cry are “real men” so you let everything go do not be afraid “people cry not because they are weak but because they have been strong for way too long” You tell your baby sister that you’re proud of her and that all you ever wanted was for her to be happy and you would do anything for her even though it never seems like it you see her power in the strength in her eyes and the length of her hair she is brilliant You tell all four of your baby nieces Aja, Sonja, Anh Thu, Thu Thang that they need to know that your uncle is handsome, smart and strong but you will be more beautiful, smarter and stronger than he will ever be but they probably already know that because they constantly beat hit him upon sight I’m like the family punching bag and this graduation outfit is probably not helping this concept You tell your mother that you love her even with your broken native tongue you say, “con thuong me” that she was a warrior for working a manual job that broke her back every 3:00pm that she was your mother and father cause your father wasn’t great enough to keep her and wasn’t strong enough to keep you and that you never needed him but you couldn’t have done it without her that she let you join cross country and go on field trips and have senior prom even when she could barely afford car insurance and that she means the universe to you graduates you will feel lost, you will be afraid of the uncertainty of the future but understand, we follow in the legacies of resistance I will not end by telling you to dream big never give up that’s not only a cliché but its condescending to our histories we and our families have always known to dream bigger than our ancestors ever could so we will inevitably and undoubtly will be extraordinary You will constantly ask yourself “what am I going to do with my life” but truly honor our ancestors and our community but the true question you must constantly seek is “what impact I will create through my life” Congratulations to the class of 2015
