June 20, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President 
My mother died recently. One of her illnesses robbed her of the ability to remember around the time I was old enough to want to know about her life before I was born. Even before that, her stories were just a way to teach me a lesson. They always ended with “that’s why you shouldn’t…”

During one of my mother’s lucid moments, I asked about how she felt when, at the age of 14, she rowed a boat on the river to go sell vegetables at the market in Hà Tỉnh. She said she was scared. And there was a certain man who worked on the dock that she tried to avoid being alone with at night.

June 12, 2019
We stand in support of Bee Nguyen, State Representative for Georgia House District 89, and her criticism of inflammatory statements made by an associate professor of history at Georgia Gwinnett College about undocumented immigrants. In a Facebook post, Fang Zhou called undocumented immigrants “ghetto thugs and criminals” and “illiterate uneducated intellectually inferior.” He also states that “deportation of illegals is so beautiful and lovely to see. It is sweet justice for me.” Mr. Zhou also reported that he consistently educates his students about “the financial burden of illegal immigrants” and “the high crime rate of illegal immigrants.”     

June 3, 2019
PIVOT proudly announces that we are endorsing Kathy Tran for her re-election campaign. Kathy Tran was one of the first few candidates that our organization supported in 2017. When Kathy was elected to the VA House of Delegates (42 District) in 2017, she flipped a seat that was held by a Republican for 24 years. In her short two years there, she has helped pass Medicaid expansion to 400,000 Virginians, gave teachers a pay raise, advanced redistricting reform, and fought for women’s reproductive health care. We are thoroughly impressed with what a powerhouse she has become. Even the House Democratic Caucus recognized this and tasked her with the role of Finance Co-Chair, where she is committed to supporting candidates across Virginia and flipping the House this November 2019.
We strongly encourage you to donate to her campaign or contact us to help with voter outreach for Kathy Tran's re-election.

May 22, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President  
Since 1992, the month of May has been designated by the U.S. government as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). It is a time to remember the history of Asians in America and to celebrate their culture and accomplishments. Coincidentally, APAHM immediately follows April 30th, the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the Vietnamese diaspora. To some extent, Vietnamese Americans should feel that APAHM is a remembrance and celebration of our arrival to America and our contributions to this great country.

May 6, 2019
Thu Quach, PIVOT Board Member
My beloved mother passed away on October 16, 2005. She was only 58 years old. In those years, she had survived immense poverty, the birth of five children, the loss of her second son, a war, a perilous escape on a small boat with three young children for days at sea, living in refugee camps, and resettling in a foreign land where she barely spoke English. Yet, it was cancer that finally took her down. Just thirteen months after her diagnosis, she was taken from us. But even after her death, her impact continued.

March 25, 2019
PIVOT decries the White House’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, released on March 11, 2019. The budget runs completely counter to our values and policy priorities, and is harmful for Vietnamese Americans nationwide.

February 22, 2019
On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency concerning the southern border of the United States. This declaration came just days after Congress passed a budget that provided only a fraction of the requested funding for “border barriers.” Sixteen states have joined in lawsuits to challenge Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.

 February 4, 2019

PIVOT recognizes that abortion at the later stages of pregnancy is one of the most divisive issues in American politics generally and in the Vietnamese American community specifically. Even though third-trimester abortions are rare and performed primarily to protect the mother’s health, it is also when the balancing of the mother’s life and the sanctity of another life is at its most difficult. For these reasons, PIVOT believes that we must engage in this difficult conversation in a constructive way, not simply to score political points or to carry out personal attacks.

January 22, 2019
Nguyen Minh Nguyet, PIVOT member

Last week, at the dinner table, my grandson, Hung, talked about his classroom fundraising for his school trip to Washington, DC in April. Hung is 13 years old, an 8th grader. His group of four close friends are all very excited about the project. They plan to sell baked goods. Ray's mom will help him make chocolate chip cookies, Marc plans to bring pies, and Sam's mom will make Japanese rice balls.