27-Vietnamese Texans - Institute of Texan Cultures

27-Vietnamese Texans
Early Arrivals
When the population was counted in 2000,
there were more than a million Vietnamese
in the United States, with 143,352 living in
Texas. From 1990 to 2000, the Asian population of Texas increased 82%.
Almost all Vietnamese came to America after
the Communists in North Vietnam took over
the city of Saigon in South Vietnam during
the Vietnam War. In 1975 the United States
withdrew from the Vietnamese War, leaving
behind many Vietnamese friendly to the
U.S. The South Vietnamese were afraid for In 1984 the Nguyens formed their own family
their lives when the Communists took over orchestra. What musical instruments are the
and left any way they could, making them children playing?
refugees. The refugees did not come to Texas
for shrimp in the Port Lavaca, Seadrift, Galbecause they wanted to leave their home,
veston, and Rockport areas.
but because they wanted to escape the new
Communist government.
Not knowing the language or the laws caused
them many problems. They were disliked by
Many left in overcrowded boats, fearing they
the other fishermen because the Vietnamese
would be killed; others were held in U.S.
families worked together for longer hours to
resettlement camps for a long time, while
get ahead. Many had their boats burned, and
others were put in Vietnamese prisons. The
the Ku Klux Klan organized against them.
Vietnamese who came to Texas had experienced many horrors and lost family members
There was also tension in the cities, where
during the war and in their escapes.
the Vietnamese had trouble finding jobs and
places to live. Some started small businesses,
Settlement in Texas
and with all family members working, they
became successful. When they could, the
Even though many of the Vietnamese in
Vietnamese Texans brought over other famTexas were well educated and had held top
ily members to live with them.
positions in Vietnam, it was hard for them
to find jobs. Many Vietnamese settled along The city of Houston has the second largest
the Gulf Coast, where the climate was similar Vietnamese population in the United States,
to home. The families worked and pooled
with more than 55,000 in Harris County.
their money to buy boats and then fished
Because 10,000 of these people are over 18
years old, county officials were ordered in
2002 to print voting ballots in the Vietnamese language. Vietnamese Texan Andrew
Tran, Democrat, ran for a seat in the
Texas House of Representatives in the 2002
elections. As a Texan he attended political
rallies in cowboy boots! But in the election he
did not get enough votes to win.
In 1987 in Garland, Texas, Mr. Loc Tran
started the Vietnam Weekly News, printed in
Vietnamese. Twelve thousand copies were
sold weekly in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston,
and other cities in the U.S.
Vietnamese Cultural Folkways
Vietnam's culture was influenced by China
and India, and many Vietnamese Texans follow the teachings of Buddha. In 2002 there
were 29 Buddhist temples in Texas.
In the 1960s Baptist missionaries established
the Grace Baptist Church in Saigon and began a Christian orphanage for children who
had lost their parents. It was closed when
Saigon fell to the Communists. A hundred
Vietnamese came to Dallas, where members
of the East Grand Baptist Church helped
them get medical care, housing, and jobs. In
2002 the Vietnamese Faith Baptist Church in
Dallas had 230 members and held services in
Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese Texans celebrate the Lunar
New Year. Their festival, called Tet Nguyen
Dan, or Tet, is a celebration of the New Year
and of the change from winter to spring.
Families gather and prepare foods, fruit, and
incense to show respect for their ancestors.
The festival, depending on the year, takes
place between January 21 and February 19.
To prepare for Tet, families clean their homes,
doing all the sweeping before New Year's Day
so that good fortune in the New Year is not
swept away. The house is decorated with
flowers and fruits as symbols of rebirth and
new growth. The festival lasts seven days,
and at midnight on the last day, fireworks are
lit to welcome the New Year and scare away
the evil spirits. Through the Tet festival, the
Vietnamese keep their culture alive and pass
it on to others.
Amazing Vietnamese Texans
Dat Nguyen (1975-) was born in a Viet-
namese refugee camp in Arkansas to parents
who fled Saigon by boat before the end of the
war. Five brothers and sisters came over as
well. His family moved to Rockport, Texas,
where, in the eighth grade, Dat joined the
football team. After being named the AlISouth Texas Defensive Player of the Year, he
joined the Texas A&M Aggies, There he won
the Lombardi Trophy and the Butkus Award.
After college he joined the Dallas Cowboys,
the first Vietnamese to play in the National
Football League.
In 2003 Betty Nguyen was a 27-year-old
television anchor who was seen on morning
television in Houston. Born in Vietnam,
Betty and her family were among the last to
leave Saigon before the Communists arrived.
She grew up in North Texas and attended the
University of Texas at Austin.
In 1998 she returned to Vietnam to visit family members. There she was overwhelmed by
the struggle of the rural people to survive the
monsoon rains, disease, and poverty. She returned to Texas and with her mother founded
Help The Hungry, Inc.
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