I have tremendous respect for Shwaw Vang of the Madison School Board but not his recommendations for naming a public school after a military leader with a checkered past.
What is most disturbing is that so many members of the school board supported the naming without knowledge about Pao's escapades.
Why would knowledge be relevant? This is only a school, after all...And besides, liberal Madison has yet to recognize those who stood bravely with the French colonialists at Dien Bien Phu...Next, The Battle of Algiers.
Additional resources:
Isthmus story by Marc Eisen:
Vang Pao Elementary School opening in Madison
Exchange between Dr. Gary Yia Lee, a visiting professor at the Center of Hmong Studies at Concordia University and UW History Professor Alfred McCoy, including McCoy's suggestions of alternative Hmong candidates for naming honors:
McCoy challenged on Vang Pao; he fires back:
As for Dr. Lee's allegations of anti-Hmong bias, let me state here, as I have done repeatedly in public fora, that I strongly favor naming this new Madison elementary school after a Hmong leader to honor the Hmong sacrifice in the Vietnam War and the many Hmong contributions to American society. If a Hmong soldier is deemed appropriate, then I would suggest Lee Lue, the heroic Hmong pilot who died in Laos in 1969. If a Hmong educator is deemed preferable, I would suggest Dr. Yang Dao, the first Hmong-American to earn a Ph.D. and a tireless advocate for Hmong education. If a more traditional Hmong educator were deemed advisable, I would suggest Shong Lue Yang, 'the Mother of Writing,' that brilliant religious leader who invented a non-Romanized system for Hmong writing. There are just a few of the many accomplished Hmong and Hmong-Americans appropriate for this honor.
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