Thành
phố Madison , Wisconsin
tuyên bố thứ sáu là ngày John 'Vietnam
Một
sinh viên người Mỹ gốc Việt 19 tuổi, cũng là một nghệ sĩ nhạc hip-hop tài hoa,
và một nhà hoạt động tích cực cho công bằng xã hội, đã được thành phố Madison ở
Wisconsin vinh danh qua tuyên bố Thứ Sáu là Ngày John “Vietnam” Nguyen, một năm
sau ngày giỗ đầu của anh.
Thị
trưởng Thành phố Madison Paul Soglin.
Báo Wisconsin State Journal tường thuật rằng Thị trưởng Thành phố Madison, ông
Paul Soglin đã ra tuyên bố này hôm qua ngay trước bức tượng của nhà tranh đấu
dân quyền nổi tiếng của Mỹ, là Mục sư Luther King Jr., tại tiền đình Tòa Thị
Chính thành phố Madison, Wisconsin.
John Nguyen chết đuối tại Hồ Mendota đúng một năm về trước, để lại bao thương tiếc cho đông đảo người hâm mộ anh, vì tài năng cũng như vì các hoạt động xã hội của anh.
John Nguyen chết đuối tại Hồ Mendota đúng một năm về trước, để lại bao thương tiếc cho đông đảo người hâm mộ anh, vì tài năng cũng như vì các hoạt động xã hội của anh.
City
proclaims Friday John 'Vietnam
John
"Vietnam " Nguyen
performs spoken word in his hometown of Chicago
The
city of Madison has proclaimed Friday to be John
“Vietnam ” Nguyen Day, which
marks the one-year anniversary of the death of the 19-year-old UW-Madison
student and Chicago-raised hip-hop artist who drowned in Lake Mendota
Known
for his positivity, civic engagement and lyrics about identity and
multiculturalism, Nguyen was on scholarship through the First Wave program, the
first university program in the country centered on the spoken word and hip-hop
culture. The son of a Vietnam
“John
had a larger-than-life personality,” said Willie Ney, executive director of the
Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) who recruited Nguyen. “He was and
still is the archetype for First Wave scholars because he was a phenomenally
well-rounded artist, activist and academic.”
Ney
added that Nguyen had the highest ACT score of any First Wave student since the
program began in 2007.
For
his audition to join First Wave, Nguyen produced and submitted an 81/2 minute
video of himself rapping, rehearsing poems and breakdancing.
Near
the end of the video, Nguyen states: “Being a B-boy, you don’t just break, it’s
more than a movement, it allows me to express myself in more ways than one and
gives me a balance in my mind, body and soul.”
OMAI,
which administers the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community,
along with the JVN Project have teamed up with the Madison Department of Civil
Rights to celebrate Nguyen’s life Friday.
Some
of the events for John “Vietnam
After
12 months of mourning, reflection and studying Nguyen’s lyrics in his songs,
poems and journal entries, Joe Hertel, Nguyen’s father, said he feels like he
knows his son better than ever.
“I’m
a bit removed from this generation and wasn’t quite as hip with what was going
on,” said Hertel, a Vietnam War veteran. “He certainly used the time he had,
read voraciously, took what he learned from school and what he learned growing
up in a diverse neighborhood and shared his experiences through hip-hop and
showed how hip-hop can have a positive influence on a community.”
Nguyen
grew up in Uptown, a neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. Adam Schreiber,
a rapper known as Qwel who will be performing at the Memorial Union Terrace
Friday in memory of Nguyen, also grew up in Uptown and had met Nguyen before
his death.
“His
story and legend has really resonated with me,” said Schreiber.
“You
see this kid with so much potential and so much creativity avoid becoming a
gang banger in a life where you can get so calloused and cold to the reality of
what’s going on in Chicago
Schreiber
added that he hopes concert-goers Friday will put the night in perspective and
take the time to remember John.
“It
breaks my heart when there’s a big spirit behind something and people are just
there to party,” he said.
Zhalarina
Sanders, coordinator of the JVN Project and fellow First Wave scholar, said
Nguyen always changed and still continues to change the way she thinks about
certain issues.
“He
lived, breathed and ate social justice, equality, love and respect for all
persons,” said Sanders, who added that Nguyen was always working on his craft
and hardly slept.
Members of First Wave were
among many spoken word and hip-hop performers during this year’s “Passing the
Mic” event, which included a tribute to John “Vietnam
In
one of his journal entries, Nguyen wrote:
“I’m
a slave to the rhythm, was made to be different, so even in my grave, I’ll make
a change to the system.”
UW-Madison
student who drowned in Lake Mendota identified
Nguyen,
19, had been swimming with several friends when he went underwater and did not
resurface, according to the Dane
County
The
drowning took place a short distance from a pier in the 600 block of North Park Street
The
incident was reported at 6:49 a.m. in front of the UW-Madison Limnology
Building 680 N. Park St.
The
Madison Fire Department's Lake Rescue Team was called to the scene and pulled
Nguyen out of the water less than 15 minutes after the search started,
according to spokesman Eric Dahl. Witnesses said he was under water for several
minutes.
He
was taken to a local hospital where resuscitative efforts were unsuccessful,
Irmen said. Preliminary results from an autopsy conducted Thursday were
consistent with an accidental drowning, he said.
Nguyen
was scheduled to speak at a conference of the Union of North American
Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA) last month in Minneapolis
His
workshop was on social media, social justice and hip-hop in a larger topic of
culture and identity, civic engagement and sociopolitical issues.
Nguyen's
bio on the UNAVSA website said he was a student at UW-Madison pursuing a
marketing degree. "His art is defined as expression, therapy, and
resistance rooted in hip-hop culture," it said.
The
bio said he was the son of a Vietnamese refugee and a Vietnam War veteran.
"Working and volunteering in local community organizations have nurtured his
passion for the synergy between arts, academics, and activism — especially
concerning multiculturalism and identity," it said.
In
his most recent post on his Facebook page Aug. 22, Nguyen quoted the German
theologian and philosopher Albert Schweitzer: "In hopes of reaching the
moon, men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet."
On
Twitter Thursday, UW-Madison posted, "We'll deeply miss the enormously
talented John "Vietnam Chicago
In
one video Nguyen raps "with all my people unified, but others say we
dissidents" and "still hope for better days, and remember how the
summer felt, I hope it never fades away."
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