by Phun H Tucked along the central highlands in present day Vietnam sits my family’s village. The hills are lined with stout coffee trees and woody peppercorn vines. Together, these two crops sustain the livelihoods of many of the villagers here. On my last visit to Vietnam, my aunt guided…

Content warning: pregnancy loss When Moua Vang, a 26-year-old Hmong American Minnesotan, first met Dokmai Cakseng six years ago on Facebook, he felt a strong connection. Many conversations later, he flew to Laos to meet her in person, and he quickly envisioned a lifetime of love, family, and companionship with…

by Tuân ĐinhJanelle After years of being a part of and benefiting from SEARAC’s work, I’m excited to join the staff as SEARAC’s National Director of Field. I took on this role during the same week that the United States withdrew from Afghanistan and the newest community of refugees caused by US military…

by Anna Dang I resent that I’m Vietnamese American. I once questioned if I resented the Vietnamese Because the feeling of self-hate felt similar to the feeling of displacement that I have always felt deep in my Heart But now, I know self-hate was my mistake. It was just once hard…

by Natalie Truong For as long as I can remember, the end of July has always filled me with cautious optimism. While school is still a good month away, I am already populating my calendar with classes, projects, and hopes for this upcoming fall. And what a return it will…

by Anna Dang, SEARAC Communications Intern Pride Month is coming to a close, but at SEARAC, we are not done celebrating! We continue our commitment to honor LGBTQ+ Southeast Asian Americans, this month and every month. In this special Pride Month newsletter, we spotlight two community leaders: Tracy Nguyen and…

by Jenna McDavid In SEARAC’s Our Voices archive, we have incredible first-person accounts of what LGBTQ+ heritage means to our staff and partners. My colleague Kham S. Moua wrote in 2020 about the importance of solidarity among movements and communities. “I choose to fight alongside the LGBTQ community and Black…

by Souvan Lee Families all over Laos disintegrated after the Vietnam War and Secret War ended in 1975. They were unsure of what to do next. Those who fought with the US feared for their lives. But they disagreed on whether to stay in Laos or to leave for the…

by Eric La Nguyen If any of you know my dad well, you’ll know that being silly, lighthearted, and goofy are just in his nature, whether he’s trying to be or not. There was this one time where we were all at the dinner table and my sister sneezed. My…