Why ‘Black Lives Matter’ Is So Divisive for Houston’s Vietnamese American Community
When fifty-year-old insurance agent Lê Hoàng Nguyên donated some of his personal savings to put up an anti-racism billboard in southwest Houston in July, he never expected that it would lead to fellow members of the city’s Vietnamese American community calling for his lynching and boycotts of his business. “Treo cổ Lê Hoàng Nguyên (hang the neck of Lê Hoàng Nguyên),” wrote one commenter on Facebook, as dozens of others denounced him as a communist and left negative reviews on his Facebook business page.
To Lê’s surprise, his simple yellow billboard had instantly become a flashpoint within the community of nearly 120,000 Vietnamese Americans who reside in one of America’s most diverse cities. Admittedly, the sign is hard to miss: a bold-font headline reading “Black Lives Matter,” with “Stop Racism” displayed in both Vietnamese and English underneath, can be spotted down the length of Bellaire Boulevard, the main thoroughfare of the city’s sprawling Chinatown and Little Saigon. Lê’s office sits on this road, sandwiched among Vietnamese noodle houses, bubble tea shops, and Houston’s largest Asian radio station.