Cy Thao | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the MinnesotaHouseofRepresentatives from the 65A district | |
| In office 2003–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Andy Dawkins |
| Succeeded by | Rena Moran |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 2,1972 Laos |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lee Vang |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota,Morris |
Cy Thao (born March 2,1972) is a Laotian-born Hmong American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011.
In 1975,Thao's family fled from Communists in Laos and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand until moving to the United States in 1980. Shortly thereafter,he joined the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He credits Scouting with helping him blend into American society and teaching him the values of community obligation. [1] Thao is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM). [2]
A Democrat,Thao was first elected in 2002. [2] He did not seek re-election in 2010,and left office on January 3,2011. [3] Thao represented District 65A,which includes portions of Saint Paul.
Saint Paul is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent and larger city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
The Hmong people are a sub-ethnic group of the Miao people who originated from Central China. The modern Hmongs presently reside mainly in Southwest China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a very large diasporic community in the United States, comprising more than 300,000 Hmong. The Hmong diaspora also has smaller communities in Australia and South America.
Vang Pao was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. He was a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. He was also known as General Vang Pao to the people in the Hmong community.
Bruce Frank Vento was an American politician, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, representing Minnesota's 4th congressional district.
Randy Cameron Kelly is an American politician and the former mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
Hmong Americans are Americans of Hmong ancestry. Many Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s. Over half of the Hmong population from Laos left the country, or attempted to leave, in 1975, at the culmination of the Laotian Civil War.
Mee Moua, is an American politician, and is the former president and executive director of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice -AAJC She served as the vice president for strategic impact initiatives at the Asian & Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) from 2011–12, and as a member of the Minnesota state senate from 2002-11. On February 3, 2017, Moua announced her departure from AAJC to "spend more time with her family, for her children and their future, and being the right kind of mom for them."
Mai Neng Moua is a Hmong-American writer and a founder of the Paj Ntaub Voice, a Hmong literary magazine. She is also the editor of the first anthology of Hmong American writers, Bamboo Among the Oaks.
Bryan Thao Worra is a Laotian American writer. His books include On The Other Side Of The Eye, Touching Detonations, Winter Ink, Barrow and The Tuk Tuk Diaries: My Dinner With Cluster Bombs. He is the first Laotian American to receive a Fellowship in Literature from the United States government's National Endowment for the Arts. He received the Asian Pacific Leadership Award from the State Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans for Leadership in the Arts in 2009. He received the Science Fiction Poetry Association Elgin Award for Book of the Year in 2014. He was selected as a Cultural Olympian representing Laos during the 2012 London Summer Olympics. He is the first Asian American president of the international Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, and the first Laotian American member of the professional Horror Writers Association.
The Paj Ntaub Voice is the longest-running literary arts journal focused on Hmong art and culture, containing original literary and visual artwork as well as criticism.
The alleged 2007 Laotian coup d'état plan was a conspiracy allegation by the United States Department of Justice that Lt. Col. Harrison Jack (Ret.) and former Royal Lao Army Major General Vang Pao, among others conspired in June 2007 to obtain large amounts of heavy weapons and ammunition to overthrow the Communist government of Laos in violation of the Neutrality Act. The charges were ultimately dropped and the case helped serve to further highlight, instead, major human rights violations by the Lao government against the Hmong ethnic minority, Laotian refugees, and political dissidents.
Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, and Ahney Her. This was Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's Million Dollar Baby. The film features a large Hmong American cast, as well as one of Eastwood's younger sons, Scott. Eastwood's oldest son, Kyle, provided the score. Set in Highland Park, Michigan, it is the first mainstream American film to feature Hmong Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the establishment of a socialist government in Laos in 1975.
The Hmong are a major ethnic group residing in Merced, California. As of 1997, Merced had a high concentration of Hmong residents relative to its population. The Hmong community settled in Merced after Dang Moua, a Hmong community leader, had promoted Merced to the Hmong communities scattered across the United States. As of 2010, there were 4,741 people of Hmong descent living in Merced, comprising 6% of Merced's population.
Foung Hawj is an American media producer and politician who is a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 67, which includes the east side of Saint Paul in Ramsey County.
The Hmong people are a major ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. As of 2000 there were 40,707 ethnic Hmong in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The 2010 U.S. Census stated there were 66,000 ethnic Hmong in Minneapolis-St. Paul, giving it the largest urban Hmong population in the world. Grit Grigoleit, author of "Coming Home? The Integration of Hmong Refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, Thailand, into American Society," wrote that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area "acted as the cultural and socio-political center of Hmong life in the U.S."
The Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) is an arts advocacy group based in Saint Paul, Minnesota's Frogtown neighborhood. Since its inception in 1998, CHAT has transformed into a social justice arts organization that engages with local and national Hmong communities. In addition to providing diverse arts-based programs, CHAT uses innovative strategies to address social issues affecting Hmong Americans.
Fue Lee is an American community organizer, activist, and politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He represents District 59A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Elected in 2016, Lee is the first person of color and of Asian descent to represent that district. He is the fourth Hmong American elected to a state legislature. In 2018, he was reelected and became Assistant Majority Leader, making him the highest-ranking official of Hmong descent.
Kaohly Her is an American politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 64A in the central Twin Cities metropolitan area. She also serves as majority whip in the Minnesota House.
 | This article about a Minnesota politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Scouting or Guiding article about a person is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about the Hmong people and culture is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
