My Unforgotten Seattle
Home Authors Posts by Bao Nguyen

Bao Nguyen

25 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Vietnamese organizing reimagined: Why the activism around Tommy Le was not a surprise

The killing of Tommy Le could have easily gone unnoticed. Neither a star athlete nor a standout student, this son to Vietnamese immigrants and brother to four other siblings lived a rather unremarkable life until he was shot and killed by a King County Sheriff’s Deputy on the night of June 14, 2017. As we now know, Tommy was hours away from his high school graduation and the knife he was reportedly brandishing turned out to be a pen

Op-Ed: Asians Go Viral and Sell Smartphones, But Can We Sell the Asian Image?

Photo credit: allkpop.com. Last year, South Korea broke through the tough barrier of American mainstream pop culture when Korean rapper Psy galloped his way into everyone’s music library.  “Gangnam Style” still stands as the most...

Q&A: Mychal Boiser, Owner of the Award-winning Kona Kai Coffee Co.

Hawaii native Mychal  Boiser owns and operates Kona Kai Coffee Co. in Kent with his wife Maryum. Last month, Kona Kai won the King County Workforce Development Small Business of the Year. This comes...

It’s Time to Break the Stereotype of Who and What an Activist Is

Like all professions, there is a certain set of jargon that comes with working in the community, especially where social justice is involved. And as inherent with language, some of the terminologies elicit generally...

Is There A Lack of Diversity in Asian American Studies?

Asian American Studies (AAS) 206 is undoubtedly a popular course at the University of Washington (UW). During the winter quarter, enrollment can reach as high as 200 students and seats usually fill up quickly. But...

Bao’s Suggestions for Summer Reading

In an unending effort to promote reading and literacy, the IE will occasionally feature summer reading suggestions from people in our community. We hope our readers will be inspired to pick up a book...

South Seattle’s Ultimate Sport

"It’s ultimate," one of the kids replied when Frank Nam asked about a game they were playing. "Ultimate … what?" Nam asked, confused. Turns out it was ultimate Frisbee but since Frisbee is a registered trademark...

Spotlight on a Community Leader: Heidi Park – Engaging the Community with Political Power

Heidi Park, 28, shares a similar beginning with many other Korean adoptees. She grew up away from her homeland of Seoul, Korea and in the very foreign environment of the Midwest where her family...

Spotlight on a Community Leader: Arlene Oki – Using Political Clout for Change

As a volunteer in her children’s schools, Arlene Oki saw many inequities that needed to be addressed and thought there should be a strong multicultural component to the education they received. She worked to...

Case Study #1: The Kingdome Protests

Even though Sue Taoka was not there in person during the Kingdome protests in 1972, the results and lessons from the event stayed with her throughout her career. To this day, the issues discussed...