Viet Thanh Nguyen is a member of PIVOT and the author of “Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War” and, most recently, the short story collection “The Refugees.”

This piece was published in The Opinion Pages of The New York Times on May 2, 2017.

April 30, 2017
Day of Remembrance, PIVOT's Statement on War
April 30th, 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War, a day that ultimately led Lady Liberty, with Lazarus' iconic lines in hand, to welcoming  over 1 million Vietnamese cascading in waves through various refugee and migration policies.  Ripples from that day were felt throughout the world as millions of Vietnamese ultimately sought refuge on foreign shores. 

April 27, 2017
By Uyen Nguyen
“A bomb dropped so close to us that I got very scared and ran off,” my Mom said as she reminisced about her absent-mindedness in the midst of a battle storm. “Only after I ran 30 meters or so that I realized I was holding a pillow, and not you,” she smiled with an embarrassed chuckle. It was around April 30th, 1975, in Da Nang, Vietnam, one of the cities most affected by the Viet Nam War. I listened to her in delight. There was never a second of my life when I ever felt neglected or unloved by my Mom, so the part about being left behind never fazed me. It was always about my Mom running back into the bombed zone, risking her own life to grab her 2-month old daughter that amazed me. This was the first story that I know about my life—a life of a child caught in the crossroad; a life about the unconditional love between a mother and her children; and a life caught in power transition, living out the consequences of war.

April 14, 2017
The Trump administration released a preliminary 2018 budget proposal, which describes many of the changes the president wants to make to the federal government’s spending. Here are some highlights of the cuts and its potential impacts on Vietnamese Americans.

April 11, 2017
By Mai-Khanh Tran, MD
My heart stopped for a brief second.  Then I felt the punch to the stomach, the way I felt when I first heard of the Sandy Hook shooting almost 5 years ago.  Another elementary school shooting?  Another shooting in San Bernadino?  I wept then and I am weeping now.  And despite all the tears and the moving words spoken by our elected leaders, there has been no new gun control legislation since that horrific day.  So no more weeping, this mama-bear has to speak up.

April 11, 2017
As an organization that aims to engage and empower Vietnamese Americans for a just and diverse America, PIVOT categorically condemns United Airlines and the Chicago Department of Aviation for their violent actions used to force a passenger off the United Airlines flight from Chicago, IL to Louisville, KY.

April 10, 2017
AB 1575, authored by California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra, will require manufacturers to list ingredients on the labels of professional cosmetics and make information on the potential health effects of ingredients more accessible. In addition, the bill will increase penalties for failure to comply with the law and provide for state agencies to recoup the cost when pursuing actions against violators.

April 3, 2017
Kathy Tran is the Democratic candidate for the 42nd District in the Virginia House of Delegates.  

Date:  Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Time:  7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Location:  1100 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1000
Arlington, VA
RSVP here!

March 31, 2017
There are multiple reasons for our grave concerns of Judge Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court -- the legitimacy of his nomination, his ruling record that favors corporations, religious groups, and government and against workers, women, immigrants, special needs children, his writing and judicial philosophy that would lead to the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade opinion, and his unwillingness to allow environmental litigations in the Courts. As such, PIVOT opposes his nomination to the Supreme Court on the grounds that his lifetime appointment would be at the disadvantage of the rights of workers, women, immigrants, and disabled individuals.

March 28, 2017
By Mai-Khanh Tran, MD
Obamacare is still the law of the land.  The defeat of the GOP proposal, as the AHCA is pulled off the table in Congress, is a victory for the American people.  54% of Americans surveyed prefer to keep the Affordable Care Act.  Saved are the potential 14 millions in the next year who would become uninsured once again, 24 millions in the next decade.  Saved are the 2 million Asians and the 200,000 Vietnamese who would lose their health care coverage nationwide.  Saved are the 400,000 Southern Californians, of whom 80,000 are Vietnamese, who would see their health insurance disappear.  Saved are the 45,000 people who would die nationally due to lack of insurance. These are the numbers we must remember.