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 city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
The Hmong people are an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwest China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a large diasporic community in the United States of more than 300,000. The Hmong diaspora has smaller communities in Australia and South America.
Vang Pao was a major general in the Royal Lao Army and later a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.
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 to 2011. 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 and poet.
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. 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 of record, Kyle, composed the film's score with Michael Stevens, while Jamie Cullum and Clint Eastwood provide the theme song.
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 Martyrs of Laos are seventeen Catholic priests and professed religious as well as one lay young man venerated as martyrs killed in Laos between 1954 and 1970 of the First and Second Indochina Wars during a period of anti-religious sentiment under the Pathet Lao Theravada Buddhist-communist political movement.
Jay Xiong is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Xiong represents District 67B, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Kaohly Her is a Hmong-American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Her represents District 64A, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Bo Thao-Urabe is a social entrepreneur who has founded numerous organizations and efforts to advance social justice. She was appointed as a Regent to the University of Minnesota by Governor Walz in 2021. A sought after leader, Thao-Urabe has served community in local, state and national settings and is the founder and former Executive Director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders. President Obama appointed Thao-Urabe as a Commissioner to the President’s White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She has also served as Senior Director at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). She founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of RedGreen Rivers, a social enterprise which develops and connects women artisans in Southeast Asia to global markets. Philanthropically, she founded of the BMPP Giving Circle, which brings Asian American families together to pool their resources together to fund social justice causes in the Upper Midwest. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Bush Fellowship from the Bush Foundation in 2019. Both Saint Paul Mayor Coleman and Governor Mark Dayton declared November 1 as Bo Thao-Urabe Day.
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