Title
Proclaiming May 14, 2022 as Hmong Day.
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WHEREAS, May 14, 2022 marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the evacuation of General Vang Pao and the Hmong people out of Long Cheng; and
WHEREAS, that day led to the introduction of the spoken and written name of Hmong to the United States personnel working in Thailand and the U.S. government; and thereafter the name Hmong was recognized and used in the U.S. official documentation of the Hmong people; and
WHEREAS, many Hmong refugees and their families took refuge to the U.S., and today over 80,000 Hmong Americans are residents of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, Hmong refugees resettled to the United States to escape war, political persecution, and discrimination, to find opportunities, and to better their lives and the lives of their children; and
WHEREAS, a majority of Hmong Americans have settled in the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, Hmong Americans have helped build a vibrant and diverse Saint Paul, contributing culturally, academically socially, politically, and economically to our city; and
Whereas, former MN Governor Mark Dayton proclaimed May 14, 2013, to be Hmong American Day in the State of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, the Hmong American Day Planning Committee seeks to establish a standard in using the namesake Hmong to remember those whom we have lost and to celebrate and recognize Hmong contributions to their current home no matter where it may be; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the City of Saint Paul hereby proclaims May 14, 2022 as Hmong Day to recognize and celebrate the history, culture and contributions of Hmong Americans and the name Hmong in Minnesota and the City of Saint Paul.