Event details
Oct
8
Reenactment of the Vietnamese Fisherman V. Ku Klux Klan
The Program in Asian American Studies will be hosting a trial reenactment with Judge Denny Chin. Our fellow community will be participating in this reenactment.
The trial will be the Case of ’The Vietnamese Fishermen v. The Ku Klux Klan
In the 1970s, after the fall of Saigon, thousands of Vietnamese fled their country to seek refuge elsewhere. Many emigrated to the United States, where they found opportunity shrimping and fishing in the waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. There, in the Gulf Coast, they thrived, despite long odds and difficult conditions. Some American shrimpers took offense. They called in the Ku Klux Klan. Intent on intimidating the Vietnamese, the Klan sponsored a rally with a cross-burning to protest the Vietnamese presence, and began patrolling the waters in a boat carrying hooded and armed Klansmen. Several Vietnamese shrimp boats were set on fire. In 1981, a group of Vietnamese fishermen sued the Klan in federal court in Houston. They sought an injunction to stop the Klan’s campaign of violence and intimidation, asserting claims under civil rights, racketeering, and antitrust laws.
In this program, we will tell the story of the Vietnamese Fisherman and the Ku Klux Klan, through narration, reenactment of court proceedings, and historic photographs.
The trial will be the Case of ’The Vietnamese Fishermen v. The Ku Klux Klan
In the 1970s, after the fall of Saigon, thousands of Vietnamese fled their country to seek refuge elsewhere. Many emigrated to the United States, where they found opportunity shrimping and fishing in the waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. There, in the Gulf Coast, they thrived, despite long odds and difficult conditions. Some American shrimpers took offense. They called in the Ku Klux Klan. Intent on intimidating the Vietnamese, the Klan sponsored a rally with a cross-burning to protest the Vietnamese presence, and began patrolling the waters in a boat carrying hooded and armed Klansmen. Several Vietnamese shrimp boats were set on fire. In 1981, a group of Vietnamese fishermen sued the Klan in federal court in Houston. They sought an injunction to stop the Klan’s campaign of violence and intimidation, asserting claims under civil rights, racketeering, and antitrust laws.
In this program, we will tell the story of the Vietnamese Fisherman and the Ku Klux Klan, through narration, reenactment of court proceedings, and historic photographs.
University programs and activities are open to all eligible participants without regard to identity or other protected characteristics. Sponsorship of an event does not constitute institutional endorsement of external speakers or views presented.
View physical accessibility information for campus buildings and find routes and entrances using the interactive campus map.