Staff Picks: June 2020 Monthly Favorites
We are nearly through July, but we didn't want to forget some of our favorites from this past month! We are hope you are enjoying your summer. Check out these staff favorites, and let us know your thoughts on them!
1. Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong-American author and has written multiple books, including The Song Poet and A Map Into the World. This past month, she published a book called The Shared Room which is a children's book that deals with grief.
We especially love that this talks about children's grief, and is something that Hmong children can read and connect with. Thank you for your beautiful writing Kao Kalia Yang! You can purchase the book directly here.
2. There are not a lot of Hmong videos out there with catchy rhymes to learn Hmong, but we are loving this cute video from Nilly Xiong! Thank you for taking your time, effort, and creativity to create this wonderful resource for us all!
Lyrics:
Nyob Zoo!
Hnub no peb yuav kawm txoj:
Tsiaj ntawv Niam thiab cov Cim nawb!
Tsiaj Ntawv Hmoob muaj:
15 tus Tsiaj ntawv Niam
thiab
Hmoob muaj 8 tus cim
Npaj Tau Lawm lob? Hu Nrog kuv!
Hmoob muaj 8 tus cim nws hais li no
Hmoob muaj 8 tus cim nws hais li no
siaB, niaM, ntuJ, kuV/toD, UA, muS, neeG
aB, aM, aJ, aV, a , aS aG
eB, eM, eJ, eV, e , eS eG
iB, iM, iJ, iV, i , iS iG
oB, oM, oJ, oV, o , oS oG
uB, uM, uJ, uV, u , uS uG
wB, wM, wJ, wV, w , wS, wG
aiB, aiM, aiJ, aiV, ai , aiS aiG
auB, auM, auJ, auV, au , auS auG
awB, awM, awJ, awV, aw , awS, awG
eeB, eeM, eeJ, eeV, ee , eeS, eeG
iaB, iaM, iaJ, iaV, ia , iaS, iaG
ooB, ooM, ooJ, ooV, oo , ooS ooG
uaB, uaM, uaJ, uaV, ua , uaS uaG
aaB, aaM, aaJ, aaV, aa , aaS aaG
Ua tsaug!
Ok, tam sim no yog KOJ thib lawm nawb.
Npaj tau lawm lob?
Pib tau!
Hmoob muaj 8 tus cim nws hais li no
siaB, niaM, ntuJ, kuV/toD, UA, muS, neeG
aB, aM, aJ, aV, a , aS aG
eB, eM, eJ, eV, e , eS eG
iB, iM, iJ, iV, i , iS iG
oB, oM, oJ, oV, o , oS oG
uB, uM, uJ, uV, u , uS uG
wB, wM, wJ, wV, w , wS, wG
aiB, aiM, aiJ, aiV, ai , aiS aiG
auB, auM, auJ, auV, au , auS auG
awB, awM, awJ, awV, aw , awS, awG
eeB, eeM, eeJ, eeV, ee , eeS, eeG
iaB, iaM, iaJ, iaV, ia , iaS, iaG
ooB, ooM, ooJ, ooV, oo , ooS ooG
uaB, uaM, uaJ, uaV, ua , uaS uaG
aaB, aaM, aaJ, aaV, aa , aaS aaG
Ua tsaug!
Kuv vam thiab cia siab hais tias, nej yuav kawm tau ntau los ntawm zaj nkauj no!
Ua Tsaug Ntau Ntau thiab Sib Ntsib Dua os Cov Phooj Ywg!
3. This last month, Yia Vue, a Hmong-American writer, wrote a wonderful story on the Hmong Gang Menace of Destruction (MOD).
Yia does a wonderful job telling of how MOD came to be, and how rival Hmong gangs would eventually go against each other.
An excerpt from the article:
"In many ways, the American resettlement system and the racial issues already existing before the Hmong arrived on American shores were to blame for the birth of Hmong gangs. In observing the resettlement practices for the Hmong in other countries like Germany and France, it was clear to see that America had thrown its newest members into the middle of another battle field, pulling the Hmong from the ravages of the Secret War in Laos and thrusting them into the race wars in the concrete jungles of its urban neighborhoods.
It’s been thirty years now since the MOD’s humble beginnings under the burning California sun. Many things have changed. John has since long been retired, quietly bowing out on his fortieth birthday to focus on his children and to give back to the Hmong community. The face of Hmong gangs, just like their founders, had also changed with time too. In California, he tells me, two gangs can’t be in the same place together. It’s an automatic fight. But in Minnesota and other places, nowadays, as long as no one starts trouble and everyone keeps to themselves, there’s a sort of coexistence truce between groups.
There were many similarities to his story compared to other resettlement stories I’d been told. It’d been a fate born of necessity, a product of his environment where toughness was needed to survive the racial brutalities of the streets of America in the eighties and nineties. It was the same fire that I’d often felt myself in my search for justice, in my struggle to rise against my own oppressors. Our paths may have led us down very different roads because of our different opportunities and happenstances, but that will to survive was the same.
Perhaps had there been more support, understanding, and advocacy for the first Hmong refugees, Hmong gangs would have never came to be, but that was not the world we lived in. The 80’s were more than just Don Johnson, big hair, and shoulder pads. It was also a time of great disparities and open racism. For newcomers like the Hmong, we survived however we could; and for some, that road was more dangerous than for others.
At the end of our conversation, I asked him if he had any words for the Hmong community. “Yes,” he says. “Just that it’s time to come together, to be one people again.”
You can read the full article here.
4. Lori M. Lee's released her fantasy book Forests of Souls in June. We're excited to get our hands on her book! You can purchase yours here.
Did you get yours? What did you think?
What were some of your favorites from this past month?
- The Story Cloth Shop Team