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Young Vietnamese American progressives lead a generational split with conservative elders

Philip Nguyen, an Asian American studies professor at San Francisco State, takes a selfie while speaking at a San Jose rally for Vietnamese American progressives who support the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. (Philip Nguyen via Los Angeles Times)

On election day, then beyond, their work will not stop.

Since Donald Trump was elected president four years ago, Vietnamese American progressives have been building a movement that’s redefining their culture’s political landscape.


Although most of their parents and grandparents have stayed faithful to the Republican Party — largely because of staunch anti-communist feelings dating to the Vietnam War — many of the younger set say they’re focused on domestic issues, not homeland ones. What motivates many of them are concerns over income inequality, keeping the Affordable Care Act, climate change and humane immigration laws, as well as solidarity with Black Lives Matter over racial justice issues.

Some members of Pivot, the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization, which started on the West Coast about four years ago, are trying to persuade family members — moms, dads, uncles, cousins — to back the Biden-Harris ticket. They tick off talking points on taxes and China policies, armed with information from the bilingual VietFactCheck.org, a Pivot spinoff with source-verified articles about the 2020 election.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.