Watching the Olympics the past few days to cheer on Suni Lee from Minnesota is like holding your breath unknowingly, and then her winning the gold metal for the all around games like a breath of fresh air. She won it for her, her family and her loved ones. She doesn’t and never owed this gold metal to anyone but herself, and she is proud of herself. I am proud of her. Our Hmong community across the globe is proud of her.
In so many ways, this metal represents so much more than just an Olympic gold metal. It only goes to prove the things we Hmong already know. That WE refuse to be erased from history. The thousands of years of persecution, trauma, forced assimilation, disregard, being deliberately left out of history books because historians wanted our stories and voices kept a secret. We will NOT be easily dismissed by others. We have made our mark in the world in many ways, and this, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Suni winning the Olympic gold metal only solidifies that we Hmong, are strong, resilient and will fight to keep our space in the world. That all the years of trauma and struggles of our ancestors led up to this very moment. Our ancestors have made too many sacrifices to count for this one moment, so that we Hmong would finally get the recognition that we deserve from a world that tried to erase them.
Secondly, Suni being a Hmong daughter, a Hmong woman - sets the record straight in the patriarchal Hmong society that when you invest in both your sons AND daughters, you can and will achieve greatness. So for long our daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces and mothers were groomed to only become the perfect house wife and disregarded as beings. We were told to stop asking questions in the face of injustices, and told that no one would want us if were educated, and smart. Statistics over the last 10, 15, 20 years have proven that our daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces and mothers are more than capable in so many ways than previously thought, or rather previously allowed to pursue. Today, Hmong women across the US have risen up to the challenges of taking on adversity. We have come together to find strength, compassion, and comfort in one another by sharing our stories, our pain, and our proudest moments - and overcoming together.