Houston Council Member Al Hoang points out District F that he was sworn-in to represent as the first Vietnamese-American in January 2010.
Al Hoang brings Vietnamese-American perspective as a first to Houston City Council
By Albert C. Jones
America, The Diversity Place
HOUSTON, Texas — Houston reflects a particular linkage to American history — time come to fruition — and Al Hoang has the perfect story among multicultural voices across the nation, knowing he is a beneficiary of meeting of the minds, a little nudging, congealed bonds of humanity, good-times, as it were, realized in the Space City.
Hoang is sitting in his Council Member office on the first floor of the City Hall Annex on Bagby Street in downtown Houston. He was part of the historic swearing in of elected officials that took place on Monday, January 4, 2010 in the Wortham Theater Center. Hoang was elected to represent District F. Demographics support the neighborhoods in Hoang’s district, Alief, Greater Fondren Southwest, Sharpstown, Braeburn, Gulfton and Westwood, are the most diverse in Houston.
District F includes Chinatown and Vietnam Town. Japanese and Korean restaurants and many others add flavor to the city’s annual International Food Festival. Immigrants from Central America have settled in large numbers in apartment complexes in Gulfton.
“It’s an international city over there,” Hoang said of District F.
Hoang, born in South Vietnam, fled to the United States in 1975 with his family after Saigon fell to the communists. Hoang was thirteen years old at the time.
Annise Parker, former council member and elected city controller, was sworn in as Houston’s first gay mayor. Ronald Green was the first African-American elected city controller. Hoang is the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Houston City Council.
“Three decades ago this city opened its heart and mind and accepted people,” he said about historic change. “The swearing-in ceremony was something special. It was a historical event.
“Houston is a most diversified city,” Hoang said. “In order for the city to work, people have to have open minds and open hearts. Continuing to accept difference will make the city grow. The whole city and not just certain parts have to accept difference and honor difference. Then all the gains will not be diminished. Our difference enriches culture and enriches the whole city — politics and economy, culture and the city itself.”
The swearing-in ceremony included a 200-voice orchestra and choir. Parker favored a free concert preceded by fireworks over an invitation-only gala.
“I opted for a free concert over an invitation-only gala because I want all of Houston to be able to participate in the celebration,” Parker had said in a prepared statement. “I invite families to bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets and join me under the stars in downtown Houston for an event that will have everyone on their feet dancing.
“It’s the perfect way to mark the start of a new decade and a new city government that I pledge will be inclusive and transparent,” she said.
Many from the Asian community came to support Hoang at the swearing-in ceremony, including his wife Diane and their three children.
“The Asian community was so excited at first,” Hoang said. “They were all here. They were so excited. They were like kids waiting for their mother to come home with a bag of candy.
“I represent Asians as a whole and I take pride in that,” he said. “That’s what I like. I don’t represent me. I represent all ethnic groups. All eyes are on me. If I make a mistake, it’s an Asian who is making that mistake. People want me to represent the whole city. I have to be very cautious in what I do.”
Here is a note from history.
The Indochina Migration and Refugee Act of 1975 granted refugees special status to enter the country and established a domestic resettlement program. Vietnamese refugee centers in California, Arkansas, Florida and Pennsylvania matched new arrivals with resettlement agencies and sponsors.
Reading, Pennsylvania was the first settlement city for the Hoang family.
“Reading, Pennsylvania is a small town in northeast United States,” Hoang said. “I was the only Asian in my school. Because of that, there was more discrimination in that town. I got into fights with kids. Life was harsh there. The U.S., at that time, was not acceptable to all cultures.”
The Hoang family resettlement was typical of dispersion that sought to prevent the forming of “ghettos” by concentrating Vietnamese in one geographical area. Of their own accord, however, high percentages chose to relocate to California and Texas.
“Coming to Houston is a whole different world,” Hoang said “People here accept difference, not only accept, but they honor and see beauty in difference. Growing up in Houston was wonderful. This is an international city. There is a large base of Asians in this city.”
That base, citing U.S. Census data, includes 100,000 Vietnamese; 100,000 Chinese; 80,000 Koreans; and 10,000 Japanese. Those from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India count 100,000 to 500,000.
“Growing up here was great because of the diversity in the community,” Hoang said. “There are forty-two percent Hispanics living in Houston. All the diversity makes us an international city. In order for the city to work, we have to be in harmony. We learn to love all ethnic groups. If there is discrimination, it’s not going to work.”
Tet is the lunar New Year in Vietnam that marks the arrival of spring. The lunar New Year, February 14, 2010, presented Hoang with an opportunity for cultural sharing with his fellow Council Members and Mayor Parker. He presented them with a “Hoa Mai,” the Morning Flower, “widely used in the Asian communities during the Lunar New Year to scare off any evil spirits and bring wisdom, health and good fortune in the New Year.”
The flower held envelopes with a new two-dollar bill for each Council Member and Mayor Parker. Following a Vietnamese custom, Hoang also gave each a piece of chocolate.
“I believe Council Members were enriched by the cultural exchange,” he said. “We had a monk pray before the council session. (This observance) brings something new and energetic to the city. They not only accept it, but they like it and honor it. Because of this, I believe Houston is going to be the model for all international cities.”
Mayor Parker directed the Morning Flower be displayed in the Visitors Center in City Hall.
Meanwhile, Hoang was asked to speak on his likes and dislikes, as a representative voice of the Vietnamese experience in Houston?
“Vietnamese here are a little different,” he said. “We are a strong anti-communists community. Vietnam is opening commercial doors and trying to gain entry into the U.S. market.”
The Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity galvanized their opposition when it was announced that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SPN) wanted to open a consul office in Houston. Such a stance puts the Vietnamese community here at odds with several forces, national and international, including the U.S. State Department, Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, the Greater Houston Partnership locally and, of course the SPN.
The GHP has an international outreach is to “assist international companies in relocating to or expanding in the Houston region and provide briefings and arrange business-to-business meetings for inbound trade delegations.” Vietnam, according the Web site of the Vietnam News Agency, is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world and the U.S. is the number one importer of coffee.
Into this mix, Mayor Parker appointed Hoang vice chairman of the city’s International Business Initiatives Committee. He mentioned that Vietnam already sends two hundred million dollars in goods through the Port of Houston.
“There is no dialogue over there with the community over here,” he said. “As an elected official it is very hard. I believe the communist regime in Vietnam should let people decide on their fate. The community over here will then open up to them. This is the toughest issue I have to deal with being Vietnamese.”
Hoang has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Houston and a law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. His confluences of leaders as role models are varied. They include President Ronald Reagan, President Abraham Lincoln, especially Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Mahatma Gandhi.
“Those leaders stood up for their beliefs,” Hoang said. “They do not fight or project views for the self but for the good of the community. Ronald Reagan didn’t give up the many times he ran and did not win. He proved he was a great President. ‘Tear down that wall’ was straightforward, bluntly stated. ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ He had the courage to say things that needed to be said.
“President Lincoln stood up for the slaves and because of that it cost him his life,” Hoang said. “African Americans are enjoying life because of the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. He wasn’t elected; his leadership was an incentive not only in the U.S., but all over the world. This nation changed because of Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi died bringing unity for the Indian people. These are the great leaders I look upon.
“That’s what I want to bring as a council member,” he said. “To have the courage to say what I believe, be flexible, stand up for what you believe. It’s not easy; it’s hard. That’s why I call them saints.”
Hoang ran to lower taxes and reduce crime in District F.
“I want infrastructure to be built better,” he said. “I want to cooperate with the international district and have an international gateway. I would like to see redevelopment in the Sharpstown area and beautification of Bellaire.”
Candidate Hoang was not mentored through the political process.
“For a person to mentor me for my campaign, I didn’t have,” he said. “I listened to others who hve made it. I am kind of self-taught. I don’t have ambitions to be a mentor, but if people ask me about my experience, I will share that with them.
“I am not a good teacher,” he said. “I think I am going to be a good student. If Al Hoang can make it, anybody can. I came here with my bare hands, didn’t speak the language, now I have this. This country provides opportunities to everybody. This is the land of dreams.”
The “Hoa Mai,” Morning Flower, used in the Asian communities during the Lunar New Year, was presented to Houston Council Members in February 2010.