This article discusses the history of Vietnamese Americans and Vietnamese immigrants in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, Texas, and its environs. Vietnamese immigration has occurred in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

, including

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

and Harris County, since 1975, after the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

ended and refugees began coming to the United States.Vu p. 28.

History

1970s through 1990s

In early 1975, fewer than 100 ethnic Vietnamese lived in Greater Houston. They included thirty to fifty students, twenty to forty wives of former U.S. servicemen, and some teachers. The first wave of immigration arrived in Houston after the end of the Vietnam War, when

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fell to the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese on April 30, 1975. Thousands of Vietnamese people who had affiliations to the

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

ese government fled Vietnam. The first wave consisted of a higher proportion of managers and professionals and a smaller proportion of

blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

s than the average population of Vietnam. Douglas Pike, a historian, said that the people were "urban, upper class, well-educated, and familiar with American lifestyles." Many Vietnamese were flown to Fort Chaffee,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, before being transferred to Houston. The federal refugee resettlement system established by the Indochinese Assistance and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, which was active from 1975 to 1988, designated Houston as a major resettling site for Vietnamese.Rodriguez, p
40
Texas received many Vietnamese refugees in the late 1970s because it had a warm climate, an expanding economy, and a location in proximity to the ocean. Vietnamese from fishing and shrimping backgrounds saw Houston as a good settlement point due to its proximity to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. The first wave, compared to the later two waves, was more highly educated, had more knowledge about American society, and had relatively more capital. Because, at that time, the American population felt "war guilt", the first wave received a more positive reception than the other two waves. With the Vietnamese immigrant waves after the Vietnam War, the U.S. government provided housing, health care, transportation, welfare assistance, initial education, and job training. Nestor Rodriguez, author of "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston", wrote that the "majority of credit" for successfully resettling Vietnamese and Indochinese in Houston was given to charitable and religious organizations and individuals.41
The tasks the organizations and individuals did included acquainting refugees with the

culture of the United States The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

, and assistance in finding jobs and housing for them. Private organizations such as

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and s ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

groups and congregations,

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Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

groups and congregations, and the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

provided assistance to refugees. Sometimes private organizations received assistance from the government.Rodriguez, p
4041
In the 1970s thousands of Vietnamese refugees moved to

Allen Parkway Village Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village, formerly Allen Parkway Village (APV) and San Felipe Courts Apartments, is a public housing complex in the northern Fourth Ward, Houston, Texas,Snyder, Mike.With its rich history, Fourth Ward is strong in sy ...

,Swartz, Mimi. "Murder in the Melting Pot." ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

''. Emmis Communications, December 1991. Vol. 19, No. 12. ISSN 0148-7736. START: p
142
CITED: p
170
where they encountered crime and tensions with existing

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

residents. In areas in Greater Houston along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

some

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

residents had animosity towards Vietnamese fishermen. Around the late 1970s in Seabrook, Texas, a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

group held an anti-Vietnamese rally, and in an incident two Vietnamese fishing boats were burned. The second wave consisted of " boat people" who came from 1978 to 1982. They were socioeconomically poorer than the first wave, and their children did not have as high of a performance in academics as the children of the first-wave immigrants had. Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist, said that of the Vietnamese that received Asian surveys, 47% completed the interviews in Vietnamese. Many members of the second wave were Vietnamese of Chinese descent. As of June 2, 1980, the Vietnamese had become a significant ethnic minority in the area. With about 25,000 Vietnamese at that time, Greater Houston had the second highest Vietnamese population in the United States, after

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...

.Houston Becoming Burgeoning Vietnamese Society
" ''

The New York Times News Service This is a list of assets owned by the New York Times Company. Business units Media properties * ''The New York Times'' * ''The New York Times International Edition'' * ''The New York Times'' ''International Weekly'' * '' T: The New York Times S ...

'' at ''The Times-News''. June 2, 1980. Page 24. Retrieved from

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(13 of 56) on April 1, 2012. Of the Vietnamese not born in the United States, 11 persons had entered the U.S. before 1950, while 95% of the number of foreign-born Vietnamese had entered the U.S. since 1975. Many of the Vietnamese refugees in Houston had experienced trauma in their journeys to the U.S. and had experienced problems with families and personal issues after settling in the United States. Out of 114 Vietnamese women who were a part of a late 1980s study of refugee women in Houston, the majority reported having problems with family, finances, and/or health and/or reported being depressed, nervous, and/or anxious. Demand for use of Vietnamese-speaking officers of the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

(HPD) increased in the 1980s as the city's Vietnamese population increased. The third wave consisted of former

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

s and detainees from Vietnam. In 1988 the Vietnamese government began releasing political prisoners and detainees ''en masse'' after U.S. government intervention. The political prisoners had mental and physical illnesses due to imprisonment, and they had the most difficult time fitting in to the United States. In 1990 in Greater Houston there were 33,000 ethnic Vietnamese, including those born in the United States and those born abroad. Within the city of Houston, that year there were 18,453 ethnic Vietnamese, with 84% of them being born outside of the United States. As of 1990 the Vietnamese, along with the Chinese, were one of the two largest Asian immigrant groups to Houston, with 15,568 Vietnamese living there. Rodriguez wrote that because the Vietnamese started building their institutions in Houston in the 1970s while the Chinese had already been established in Houston, "the Vietnamese in the Houston area have not reached the same level of mainstream incorporation in the late 1990s that the Chinese have." By December 1991 over 60,000 Vietnamese persons resided in Houston.

2000s and beyond

The Vietnamese coming into Houston in the 2000s and beyond came to find education and jobs.Klineberg and Wu, p. 39. In 2005 Houston had 32,000 Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans, making it the second largest Vietnamese American community in the United States of any city after that of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

.Harkinson, Josh. "Tale of Two Cities." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. Thursday December 15, 2005
2
Retrieved on March 17, 2012. In 2006 Greater Houston had around 58,000 Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans, giving it the third largest such community of all U.S. metropolitan areas.Vu p. 27. By 2007 many Vietnamese Americans in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

were moving to Texas to take advantage of lower costs of living. Around 2008, the

Government of Vietnam The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appoi ...

proposed installing a consulate within Houston. Members of the Vietnamese-American community in Houston protested against the plan, arguing that the current Vietnamese government had a bad

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

record and had no democracy, so the installation of the consulate should not be allowed. The governments of the U.S. and Vietnam officially agreed to open the Consulate-General of Vietnam in Houston in August 2009, and the consulate held its official inauguration on March 25, 2010. In 2020 a local man named Lê Hoàng Nguyên put up a bilingual English-Vietnamese billboard promoting the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement. In response he received death threats. Others decided to start boycotting businesses owned by Lê Hoàng Nguyên. Dan Q. Dao of ''

'' wrote that "had instantly become a flashpoint within the community". The sign is in the southwest Houston Chinatown.

Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Harris County had 80,409 ethnic Vietnamese, making up 28.7% of the Asians in the county. As of the same year, 15% of the Asians in Fort Bend County were of Vietnamese origins, making them the third largest Asian ethnic group in the county.Klineberg and Wu, p. 12. In 1990 there were 31,056 ethnic Vietnamese in Harris County, making up 28.3% of the county's Asians. By 1990 the Vietnamese became the largest Asian ethnic group in the county. In 2000 the Vietnamese population in the county was 55,489, 28.7% of the Asians in the county. From 2000 to 2010 the Vietnamese population in Harris County grew by 45%.

Geography

As of 2006, the largest concentrations of Vietnamese immigrants and Vietnamese Americans are on the southwest, northwest, and southeast sides of Houston, with the southwest side having the largest concentration and the northwest having the second largest. In Southwest Houston, the major Vietnamese business centers are located on

Bellaire Boulevard Bellaire Boulevard (also known as Holcombe, and as 百利大道 ''Bǎilì Dàdào'' in Chinese and ''Đại Lộ Sàigòn'' in Vietnamese) is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporat ...

and the surrounding areas,Vu, p. 29 in the new

Houston Chinatown Chinatown ( or ) is a community in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. There is another Chinatown called "Old Chinatown" located within the East Downtown Houston district near the George R. Brown Convention Center. History The first bu ...

. The area includes hundreds of Vietnamese businesses, including churches, community centers, grocery stores, investor offices, legal offices, medical offices, realtor offices, temples, and Vietnamese restaurants. Historical Vietnamese business districts include one in the western end of the old Chinatown in

East Downtown East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...

and one in Midtown. The Midtown one, with 18 square blocks, is located south of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

, and between Downtown and Montrose.Swartz, Mimi. "Murder in the Melting Pot." ''

''. Emmis Communications, December 1991. Vol. 19, No. 12. ISSN 0148-7736. START: p
142
CITED: p
174
Of Vietnamese immigrants of the third wave of immigration, as of 2006 many lived in specific multifamily "village" complexes. The complexes include Thai Xuan Village, Da Lat Village, Hue Village, Saigon Village, St. Joseph Village, St. Mary Village, and Thanh Tam Village. Of the larger villages, five are on Broadway Street and Park Place Boulevard in southeast Houston.Vu, p. 28-29

Areas of Vietnamese settlement

The original Vietnamese area in Houston, "Vinatown", was established next to the George R. Brown Convention Center, in proximity to the Old Chinatown. By the end of the 1980s, the Vietnamese businesses had moved to Milam Street in what is now Midtown. This area became known as "Vietnamtown". Vietnamese in Houston, in the 1970s, had settled

. Midtown was in proximity and was relatively inexpensive. Midtown became a center of business and religion for ethnic Vietnamese across the Houston area even though very few ethnic Vietnamese actually resided in Midtown. By 1991 this Little Saigon had Vietnamese restaurants, hair salons, car shops, and travel agencies, and as of 2000 businesses there included grocery stores, medical and legal offices, restaurants, music and video stores, hair styling shops, business service offices, and jewelry stores. Mimi Swartz of ''

'' stated in 1991 that in what is now Midtown, "Little Saigon is a place to begin easing into a new country." Due to the actions of a group of Vietnamese-American leaders led by My Michael Cao, who served as the President of the Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity (VNCH), a resolution that installed Vietnamese street signs along Milam Street in Midtown was passed. Vietnamese street signs have denoted the area since 1998. In 2004, this area was officially named "Little Saigon" by the city of Houston. The redevelopment of Midtown Houston from run-down to upscale increased property values and

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...

es, forcing many Vietnamese-American businesses out of the neighborhood into other areas. By 2003 the number of Vietnamese business declined, with many of them moving to the Southwest Houston Little Saigon, despite the beautification projects occurring. Hope Roth stated circa 2017 that pressure from other new developments and increase in costs related to land and space caused a decline in Little Saigon. Roth stated that many of the area restaurants still remain, but increasingly cater more to mainstream American tastes. In 2010 Denny Lee of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that "traces" of the Vietnamese community remained. The largest Vietnamese commercial district is now found in suburban

Alief Alief is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in unincorporated Harris County. First settled in 1894 as a rural farm co ...

, along Bellaire Boulevard west of the city of Bellaire, with Vietnamese-owned businesses and restaurants concentrated between Texas State Highway Beltway 8 and South Kirkwood Road. Although the area today is now known simply as

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

to most Houstonians, locals still call this southwest area of Houston "Bellaire". The city of Houston has formally renamed the area the International District (Greater Houston). Although the area is primarily Vietnamese and Chinese, there are also large numbers of

Filipino Americans Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

, Arab Americans, Indonesian Americans, and Pakistani Americans in the area, as well as a sizable number of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, who were once the majority in the Little Saigon area prior to the

. In 2016 Steve Le, a member of the Houston City Council for District F, proposed creating a "Little Saigon" district, consisting of commercial areas along Bellaire Boulevard from Cook Road to Turtlewood.Turner, Allan.
Plan to create "Little Saigon District" on Bellaire Blvd. draws mixed reaction
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Thursday June 30, 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. Some persons in Alief expressed opposition to the idea, saying it was

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

, and that the area has more ethnic groups than just Vietnamese. After the 1970s a group of ethnic Vietnamese moved to southeast Houston in an area within

Beltway 8 Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texa ...

and along

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

(Gulf Freeway).

Economy

Usually Vietnamese American businesses are located in the same areas that their clients live in.Vu, p. 29 Immediately after the Vietnam War, many ethnic Vietnamese became shrimpers. Jessica Chew, author of "Vietnamese and Chinese American Cultures: Destination Houston," wrote that "In Houston, the shrimping business acted as a central part of the Vietnamese community, which was familiar with the trade."Chew, Jessica, p. 22. In 1990 the median household income of Vietnamese people in Harris County was $22,284. In 1990 18% of Vietnamese workers in Harris County had

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

s. In 1990, the median income of a Vietnamese household in

was $39,318. During 1990, Vietnamese in Houston had a more numerous presence in craft and manual occupations and a less numerous presence in high-skilled administrative, managerial, and professional occupations than the Chinese did, and the Vietnamese had a greater occupational distribution than the Chinese. The presence of Vietnamese immigrants led to the development of Vietnamese restaurants throughout Houston. Some establishments from Vietnamese restaurateurs offer Vietnamese-style crawfish, a mixture of

Louisiana cuisine Louisiana Creole cuisine (french: cuisine créole, lou, manjé kréyòl, es, cocina criolla) is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States, which blends West African, French, Spanish, and Amerindian influences, as well as i ...

and

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish refle ...

. Most of the "you buy, we fry" restaurants in Houston are operated by Vietnamese immigrants and Vietnamese Americans. Carl Bankston, an associate professor of Asian studies and sociology at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, said in 2004 that ethnic Vietnamese were employed in fishing, seafood processing, and shrimping in the

area in high numbers. Around 1974 Vietnamese immigrants began coming to the Gulf Coast to work in the shrimping industry, whence many ethnic Vietnamese entered the fishing trade and related businesses. Walsh, Robb. "Southern-Fried Asian to Go." ''

''. Thursday August 5, 2004
1
Retrieved on January 20, 2012.

Politics

In 1995 ethnic Vietnamese in the Houston area initially had a preference for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

; this was due to historic Republican support for

anti-Communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

, as the Vietnamese coming opposed the Vietnamese Communist Party. By 2013, due to concerns about discrimination against Asians and immigration policies and the lessening importance of anti-Communism, the political preferences of ethnic Vietnamese had shifted towards Democrats and independents. In 2020 Vietnamese Americans in Houston were relatively more conservative compared to other Asian ethnic groups. However, worldwide condemnation of Donald Trump and criticism of Vietnamese supporters of Donald Trump have created a generational shear between Vietnamese Americans and their support for particular political parties. With Vietnam itself moving towards more open market and free trade policies despite perceptions of human rights and freedom of press abuse in Vietnam, Vietnamese Americans have become more apolitical and less antagonistic towards the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Education

Many Vietnamese who arrived as refugees in the 1970s were given vocational education at Houston Community College. As of 2016, the college system does not require English language proficiency for enrollment. Vietnamese immigrants, among other immigrant groups, continue to benefit from the college's full-time 18-month English proficiency program and remedial courses.

Cuisine

There is Viet Hoa (ethnic Chinese) influence on Vietnamese cuisine served in Houston. Suzanne Chew, mother of Jessica Chew, stated that the situation is a "Chinese mix".Chew, Jessica, p. 23. The barbecue at Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire has Asian-American influences, with the pitmaster being of Vietnamese ancestry.

Media

Radio

Radio Saigon Houston ( KREH) is a Vietnamese radio station co-owned by Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy. In 2007, it possessed over 80 contributing hosts and 35 employees, including full-time and part-time staff. That year, Cynthia Leonor Garza of the ''

'' stated that the station was a factor in migration of ethnic Vietnamese to Houston from the West Coast.Garza, Cynthia Leonor.
Radio Saigon lures Vietnamese to Houston

Archive
. ''

''. July 31, 2007. Retrieved on February 13, 2015.

Newspapers

The '' Thoi Bao Houston'' is a Vietnamese magazine's branch in Houston. In October 2006 ''Saigon Houston Weekly'', a newspaper of Mass Media Inc., was established.

Magazines

As of 1991 there was a Vietnamese community magazine called '' Xay Dung''. Tre Magazine is a Vietnamese language weekly publication, serving the large Vietnamese immigrant community in the U.S. Since its first launch in Houston in 2011, Tre has gained favorable responses from readers and recognition within the community. Tre's circulation is about 8,000 free copies, covering Fort Bend and Harris counties. The publication's headquarters are located in Garland, Texas.

Religion

The first wave of immigrants was mostly

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, but the subsequent waves were mostly

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. A

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

temple, Texas Guandi Temple () is located in

. The temple was established in 1999 by a Vietnamese couple,Davis, Rod.
Houston's really good idea Bus tour celebrates communities that forged a city.
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

''. August 3, 2003. Retrieved on February 11, 2012. Charles Loi Ngo and Carolyn,Martin, Betty L.
Neighborhood's Alive tour hits city's multicultural hot spots
" ''

''. Thursday July 17, 2003. ThisWeek 1. Retrieved on September 9, 2012. the former originating from China.Tomkins-Walsh, p. 36. They decided to build a temple to

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

(Guandi) after surviving an aggravated robbery which occurred at their store in the Fifth Ward. They believed that Guandi saved their lives during the incident. A Vietnamese refugee named Charles Lee coordinated the donations and funding so the temple could be built; Lee stated his motivation was to thank the United States for welcoming him and saving his life when he arrived in 1978. The construction materials and architectural design originated from China. A representation of Buddha and a golden

Lord Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

originated from Thailand. The temple is open to followers of all religions, and it has perfumed halls. Ming Shui Huang was appointed volunteer manager in 2000. In 1999 the Houston area had about 30,000 ethnic Vietnamese Catholics.Vara, Richard. "Area Asian Catholics to come together in celebration." ''

''. August 21, 1999. Religion p. 1.

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched ...

Record: 3159522. Available from the ''

'
website's newspaper databases
accessible with a library card and PIN. Vietnamese Catholic churches in the area include Christ Incarnate Word Parish ( vi, Giáo Xứ Đức Kito Ngôi Lời Nhập Thể), Holy Rosary Parish, Our Lady of Lavang (Giáo Xứ Đức Mẹ Lavang), Our Lady of Lourdes, and Vietnamese Martyrs (Giáo Xứ Các Thánh Tử Đạo Việt Nam).Latson, Jennifer.
Mass honors those lost in Sherman bus crash
" ''

''. September 8, 2008. Retrieved on May 5, 2014. In 1999 there were four Vietnamese Catholic churches and five other churches with large numbers of Vietnamese people. On August 8, 2008, a bus with Vietnamese Catholics from the Houston area, traveling to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

to a festival to honor to the Virgin Mary, crashed near Sherman in

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

. 17 people died.

Recreation

The

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are Lunar phase, moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named "Chinese New ...

(

Vietnamese New Year Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Ove ...

) is celebrated in Houston. KUHT produced a special program on the holiday that aired in 1988.

In popular culture

Sherry Garland wrote the 1993 novel '' Shadow of the Dragon'', which is about a 16-year old Vietnamese boy living in Houston.

Gallery

File:MidtownHoustonVietnameseStreetSigns.JPG, Several streets in the Midtown district have Vietnamese names. File:VietroadsignHouston.jpg, International District signs in Vietnamese along

in the Little Saigon in

File:VietnamWarMemorialinHouston.JPG,

memorial, built in 2012, in the Universal Shopping Center in the new Chinatown File:St. Joseph Condominium front view.JPG, Saint Joseph Condominium in Park Place

Notable people

* Wendy Duong, first Vietnamese American to be appointed judge in the USA *

Christine Hà Christine Huyen Tran Ha ( vi, Hà Huyền Trân; born May 9, 1979) is an American chef, writer and TV host. She is the first blind contestant of ''MasterChef'' and the winner of its third season in 2012. Early and personal life Hà was born a ...

, chef, writer, and TV host *

Al Hoang Al Hoang (born 1962) is a former member of the Houston City Council. Prior to his election to that office, Hoang worked as a criminal defense lawyer.Snyder, Mike.Records raise questions about councilman-elect" ''Houston Chronicle''. December 23, ...

, first Vietnamese American in the Houston City Council * Keshi (Casey Luong), musician *

Chau Nguyen Chau Nguyen is a former Vietnamese-American news anchor most recently seen with KHOU-TV, before stepping down in December 2007 to become a social worker. She is now the Chief Public Strategies office for the Houston Area Women's Center. Chau's ...

, news reporter *

Hubert Vo Hubert Vo (, born 30 May 1956) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for House District 149. He is the first and only Vietnamese American to be elected to the Texas legislature. Personal life Vo was born in South Vietnam ...

, member of the Texas House of Representatives

References

Sources

*
Table of contents
** ** * Klineberg, Stephen L. and Jie Wu.
DIVERSITY AND TRANSFORMATION AMONG ASIANS IN HOUSTON: Findings from the Kinder Institute's Houston Area Asian Survey (1995, 2002, 2011)

Archive
. Kinder Institute for Urban Research,

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. February 2013. * Rodriguez, Nestor. "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston." in: Chafetz, Janet Salzman, and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors), ''Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations''.

AltaMira Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing comp ...

, October 18, 2000. , 9780759117129. ** Also available in: Ebaugh, Helen Rose Fuchs, and Janet Saltzman Chafetz (editors).

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing comp ...

, January 1, 2000. 0742503909, 9780742503908. *Vu, Roy.
Constructing a Southern Vietnamese Community and Identity in Houston
"
Archive
''

The Houston Review ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, 2006. Volume 3, No. 1. p. 27-31, 63-66
Available from

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

Dissertations and Theses, 406 p
Alternate link: "From the Ashes of the Cold War: Constructing a Southern Vietnamese Community and Identity in Houston"

External links

Vietnamese American Medical Association of Greater Houston
(VAMA - GH)
Houston Vietnamese Golf Association
{{Vietnamese Americans by location Asian-American culture in Houston Vietnamese History of Houston

Vietnamese-American culture in Texas