San Jose: 2,500 voices call for ‘Little Saigon’

As I had blogged about before, there has been quite a bit of controversy about a section of San Jose being officially designated by the city as “Saigon Business District” as opposed to “Litte Saigon.” San Jose has one of the largest Vietnamese-American populations in the nation. Apparently on Sunday, there was another huge rally in support of ‘Little Saigon’ before an upcoming vote, as written up in ” 2,500 voices call for ‘Little Saigon’ “:

“Setting the stage for a climactic vote Tuesday night, more than 2,500 people converged at San Jose City Hall on Sunday to demand that the city name a Vietnamese retail area on Story Road “Little Saigon.” The spirited crowd waved the red and yellow flag of South Vietnam before the 1975 communist takeover, shouting “Little Saigon” in unison. Young families with babies in strollers and seniors seemed united in their rage against the city. The event organizers also revealed new information that they believe shows that Madison Nguyen – the councilwoman at the center of the controversy – had a “private deal” to oppose the name Little Saigon. The dramatic attempt to show political force came two days before the city council is set to vote again on what to call the area. Last November, by an 8-3 vote, the council approved “Saigon Business District” as the name – a move that led to an extraordinary backlash.”

You can read for yourself the heated controversy, including a hunger strike by a well know activist within the anti-Communist Vietnamese-American community. From my perspective, it’s nice to see Asian-Americans voicing their civic concerns for their interests, but it would be even nicer if Asian-Americans in general were more active in the broader issues facing San Jose.