CRYSTAL: TONIGHT ON GREATER BOSTON, 100 NEW ARRESTS AND CALLS FOR A COLLEGE PRESIDENT TO RESIGN AS STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS ACROSS BOSTON PROTEST ISRAEL’S ATTACKS ON GAZA AND THEIR COLLEGE’S FINANCIAL TIES TO THE COUNTRY.

WILL THEIR DEMANDS BE HEARD?

WE TALK TO A STUDENT REPORTER AT NORTHEASTERN AND AN EXPERT ON THE HISTORY OF ACTIVISM AROUND THE ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT.

NEARLY 50 YEARS AFTER THE VIETNAM WAR, A MEMORIAL PROJECT HOPES TO HONOR THOSE WHO FLED SAIGON.

THE ORGANIZERS DRAWING ME AHEAD.

DOZENS OF NORTHEASTERN STUDENTS WERE IN COURT TODAY AFTER BOSTON POLICE ARRESTED ANOTHER 100 PROTESTERS AND BROKE UP THE PRO-PALESTINE ENCAMPMENT AT THE SCHOOL.

THAT WAS A WEEK AFTER POLICE ARRESTED 100 PROTESTERS AT EMERSON COLLEGE AND SHUT DOWN THE ENCAMPMENT THERE.

PROTESTERS ARE STILL CAMPED OUT AT HARVARD AND TUFTS AS STUDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CALL ON THEIR COLLEGES TO DIVEST FROM ISRAEL OVER THE WAR IN GAZA.

ARE THERE VOICES BEING HEARD?

I AM JOINED BY EMILY, CAMPUS EDITOR FOR NORTHEASTERN’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER, THE HUNTINGTON NEWS, AND MARJORIE FELT, A HISTORY PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR OF THE FORTHCOMING BOOK, THE THRESHOLD OF DISSENT: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN JEWISH CRITICS OF ZIONISM.

THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE.

EMILY, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW THESE STUDENT JOURNALISTS ARE HOW WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING, BECAUSE YOU ARE THERE IN PLACES LIKE HARVARD THAT ARE CUT OFF FROM THE PUBLIC AND OTHER JOURNALISTS.

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WATCHING THIS UNFOLD ON CAMPUS?

EMILY: IT HAS DEFINITELY BEEN HARD AS STUDENT JOURNALISTS IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A LOT OF US HAVE COVERED ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

WE DID LIVE UPDATES AND DOING ANYTHING SO FAST-PACED AND HAVING TO KEEP UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVERYTHING GOING ON ON THE GROUND WAS DIFFICULT.

A LOT OF STAFF HAD GONE HOME FOR THE SUMMER SO WE WERE PRETTY SHORTSTAFFED, SO IT WAS DEALING WITH EXHAUSTION AND WORKING OVERTIME.

ALSO WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING STUDENTS TO TALK TO US AND TRYING TO KEEP UP A GOOD, TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STUDENTS THAT WERE ORGANIZING AND PROTESTING, AND ALSO TRYING TO BE FAIR AND COMPLETE IN OUR COVERAGE.

I AM PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE DID AND EVERYONE REALLY CAME TOGETHER.

CRYSTAL: DOES IT FEEL LIKE THE CAMPUS IS DIVIDED IN -- DIVIDED OVER THIS ISSUE IN A WAY YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE SEEN BEFORE?

EMILY: I HAVE BEEN CAMPUS EDITOR SINCE JANUARY AND DEPUTY CAMPUS BEFORE THAT, SO I HAVE SEEN CAMPUS THE ENTIRE TIME DURING THE WAR SINCE OCTOBER, AND I THINK WE HAVE BEEN PRETTY DIVIDED SINCE THE START.

EVEN AT THIS ENCAMPMENT ON FRIDAY WE HAD PRO-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SHOW UP AND THERE WERE SOME TENSE CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN THEM.

IT FEELS LIKE CAMPUS IS DIVIDED.

THERE IS JEWISH PEOPLE SAYING THEY FEEL THREATENED BY THE PROTESTS AND THERE ARE PRO-PALESTINE STUDENTS SAYING THEY DON’T FEEL HEARD BY THE UNIVERSITY AND ALSO FEEL THREATENED AND THAT THERE IS ISLAMOPHOBIA ON CAMPUS.

CRYSTAL: MARJORIE, THIS CONFLICT HAS NOT ONLY SPLIT UP CAMPUSES, BUT ALSO FOLKS IN THE JEWISH-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.

YOU HAVE BEEN WRITING ON THIS CONFLICT FOR MANY YEARS NOW.

MARJORIE: I HAVE.

I BEGAN THE BOOK SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO, A BOOK THAT WAS DELAYED BY COVID, BUT I COULDN’T HAVE IMAGINED THAT IT WOULD BE PUBLISHED IN A CLIMATE LIKE THIS ONE, SUCH A CHILLY CLIMATE WITH REGARD TO ISSUES OF DISSENT.

IT IS HARROWING TO BE A WITNESS TO THIS AREA -- THIS.

I WOULD SAY GENTLY THAT THERE ARE JEWISH STUDENTS ON ALL SIDES OF THIS ISSUE, SO WE CAN PREDICT BASED ON S&S CITY -- BASED ON ETHNICITY OR CULTURE WHERE SOMEONE FALLS.

THERE ARE ALSO MORE THAN TWO SIDES.

PEOPLE FEEL CONFLICTED AND ARE INTERNALIZING A LOT OF THE TENSION EMILY IS WRITING ABOUT.

CRYSTAL: YOU MENTIONED YOU BEGAN THIS BOOK SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO WHEN THE EVENTS HAPPENED IN OCTOBER, AS YOU MAY BE WERE DOING A LAST EDIT.

WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND?

>> THE BOOK WAS TO BE RELEASED AND I WAS TO BE DOING FINAL EDITS AND THEY ASKED ME TO WRITE A NEW END AFTER THE ELECTIONS OF FALL 2022, SO THAT WAS WHEN A LOT OF AMERICAN JEWS WERE DISSENTING FROM PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU’S CABINET AND CLOSING DOWN AMERICAN JEWISH INSTITUTIONS TO THOSE FAR RIGHT CABINET MEMBERS.

THEN THE OCTOBER EVENTS HAPPENED , THE BRUTAL ATTACK OF HAMAS ON ISRAELI CITIZENS, AND THEY ASKED ME TO WRITE A SECOND CODA TO IT.

IT HAS BEEN A DIFFICULT AND FRAUGHT EXPERIENCE PUTTING THE BOOK OUT INTO THE WORLD BUT ALSO WITNESSING WHAT’S GOING ON AMONG AMERICAN JEWS AND THE COURAGEOUS PROTESTERS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES AT THE SAME TIME.

CRYSTAL: I ALSO THINK ABOUT THE HISTORY IS SO COMPLEX IN THAT REGION AND SO MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE YOUNG PEOPLE ON CAMPUSES, ARE ENTERING INTO IT POST OCTOBER, WHEREAS THERE IS SO MUCH HISTORY HAPPENING BEFORE THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS WELL.

HOW DO YOU THINK THAT PLAYS A ROLE IN THE EMOTION BEHIND THIS AND MAYBE SOME OF THE ACTIONS?

MARJORIE: TERRIFIC QUESTION.

I THINK FOR A LONG TIME, AND THIS IS ONE THING I AND OTHERS TRY TO CHRONICLE, ANY INVOCATION OF THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE OR PALESTINIANS HAS BEEN SEEN AS A FROTHING TO TEACH ABOUT OR EVEN TALK ABOUT IN INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING.

THAT IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITHIN THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY, WHERE FOR REASONS OF JEWISH SAFETY, AMERICAN JEWS WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO TEACH ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PALESTINIAN OPPRESSION AT THE HANDS OF ISRAEL.

THE STUDENTS PROTESTING RIGHT NOW ARE A LOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THIS AND THEIR DEMANDS ARE FORTHRIGHT.

THEY WANT ACCESS TO THAT HISTORY AND THEY WANT TO TEACH ABOUT THAT HISTORY.

A LOT OF THEM ARE DOING THAT, MOSTLY PEACEFULLY.

CRYSTAL: DO YOU FIND THAT YOUR PEERS FOR THE FOLKS YOU ARE INTERVIEWING OUR LEARNING AS THEY ARE PROTESTING OR GATHERING AND BECOMING ACTIVATED AROUND THIS ISSUE SINCE OCTOBER?

EMILY: I DEFINITELY THINK SO.

THE ENCAMPMENT SHOWED ME THAT EVEN MORE BECAUSE THERE WAS SUCH A COMMUNITY AND I SAW PEOPLE READING ALL KINDS OF POLITICAL BOOKS.

THERE WERE SPEAKERS FROM OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS COMING TO SPEAK.

I HAVE HEARD SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY HEARD CONVERSATIONS AMONG DEMONSTRATORS TELLING EACH OTHER WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED IN THE BOOKS THEY ARE READING.

I DEFINITELY THINK THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF LEARNING ABOUT NOT EVEN JUST HOW TO DEMONSTRATE, BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD STUDENTS TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE LEARNED HOW TO DEMONSTRATE DURING THIS TIME, BUT ALSO LEARNING ABOUT HISTORY AND THE CONFLICT OVERALL.

CRYSTAL: WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT YOUR REPORTING AND THE REPORTING OF THE HUNTINGTON, IT TALKED ABOUT THE FIRST DAY OF THE ENCAMPMENT THINGS WERE REALLY INTENSE.

EMILY: DEFINITELY.

THAT FIRST DAY WAS INTENSE.

POLICE WAS PRESENT EVEN BEFORE THE ENCAMPMENT STARTED.

IT STARTED AT 8:00 A.M. AT 2:00 P.M., BOSTON POLICE SHOWED UP IN RIOT GEAR AND STOOD ON CENTENNIAL COMMON FOR 30 MINUTES AND ENDED UP LEAVING.

THAT WAS A REALLY INTERESTING MOMENT.

LATER WE HAD STUDENTS FROM BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY JOIN OUR ENCAMPMENT.

IT WAS PRETTY INTENSE AND THERE IS A LOT OF MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SOME 48 HOURS PEOPLE WERE CAMPING OUT THAT WERE VERY TENSE, BUT ALSO VERY PEACEFUL AND COMMUNAL.

CRYSTAL: THE TIMING IS INTERESTING BECAUSE WE KNOW IT’S THE FINAL DAYS OF CLASSES.

I TEACH AT NORTHEASTERN, FULL DISCLOSURE, AND HAD TO SUBMIT MY GRADES TODAY.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

I KNOW HUSKIES FOR PALESTINE SAY THEY ARE NOT DONE ADVOCATING, THEY ARE GOING TO STAY OUT THERE.

IS THIS SOMETHING WE ANTICIPATE TO CONTINUE PAST CLASSES BEING OVER?

EMILY: I THINK SO.

NORTHEASTERN ESPECIALLY HAS A STRONG CULTURE OF TAKING SUMMER CLASSES OR STAYING FOR CO-OP.

I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE MORE ACTION AT NORTHEASTERN SPECIFICALLY.

DEFINITELY HEARD FROM PEOPLE THAT THIS ISN’T OVER, PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING FOR NORTHEASTERN TO DROP DISCIPLINARY CHARGES AGAINST STUDENTS.

CONTINUING, EVEN IF NOT THROUGH THE SUMMER, I THINK NEXT SUMMER WE WILL SEE A LOT MORE.

CRYSTAL: MARJORIE, I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN WRITING ON THESE CONFLICTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES BEFORE.

WE SAW THE ACTIONS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK, EMERSON WITH MAYOR WU’S DECISION TO SEND BOSTON POLICE TO BREAK UP ENCAMPMENTS.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE RESPONSE HAPPENING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES?

WHICH ARE KIND OF KNOWN AS PLACES WHERE STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT NEW THINGS OR GET ACTIVATED AROUND EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD?

AND COLLEGES HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.

NOW YOU ARE SEEING THIS AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE TO BREAKING DOWN OR SHUTTING DOWN THESE PROTESTS OR ENCAMPMENTS.

MARJORIE: RIGHT.

THERE ARE A BUNCH OF WAYS WE CAN LOOK AT IT FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.

WE CAN THINK ABOUT ALL THE STUDENT MOVEMENTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES, THE ANTI-VIETNAM MOVEMENT, THE ANTI-APARTHEID MOVEMENT.

IN ALL THESE CONTEXTS, STUDENTS WORK LEADING THE WAY, IMBIBING THE MESSAGES OF ANTI-COLONIALISM AND COMMUNICATING THE URGENCY OF THE ISSUES.

INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PLACES WHERE STUDENTS LEARN.

THERE HAS BEEN A CURTAILING OF THEIR ABILITY TO TALK AND LEARN ABOUT THESE ISSUES, SO IT’S TO THEIR CREDIT THEY ARE CREATING THESE LEARNING COMMUNITIES WHEN THEY ARE PEACEFUL.

I WOULD ALSO SAY WE HAVE TO BE VIGILANT DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN WHEN WE ARE FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE WITH KNOWLEDGE THAT MIGHT CHALLENGE THE WAY WE UNDERSTAND THINGS AND WHEN THERE IS PHYSICAL DANGER.

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE TO FEEL UNSAFE IN ANY PLACE OF LEARNING EVER.

ANY HATE SPEECH SHOULD BE CONDEMNED AND MADE TO GO AWAY.

AT THE SAME TIME, A LOT OF THESE LESSONS THAT THESE STUDENTS ARE TEACHING US MAKE PEOPLE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE AND IT’S GOOD TO LEAN INTO THAT DISCOMFORT AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO, AS EMILY WAS SAYING, TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING, KEEP THE LEARNING HAPPENING.

I WOULD JUST ADD THE PASSOVER SEDER HAPPENED ON A BUNCH OF THESE CAMPUSES.

THERE IS THIS JEWISH HOLIDAY OF LIBERATION THAT A LOT OF JEWS AND THE BROADER COALITIONS ON CAMPUS HAVE ENGAGED IN, WHICH IS A RECLAIMING OF JEWISH TRADITIONS OF JUSTICE.

ALL OF THESE ARE VANTAGE POINTS FROM WHICH WE CAN VIEW WHAT’S GOING ON ON CAMPUSES.

THERE IS REASON FOR OPTIMISM EVEN AS WE FEAR FOR SOME OF THE POLICE RESPONSE.

CRYSTAL: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME STUDENTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED AROUND A CONFLICT THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THAT REGION.

MARJORIE: NO, TO BE SURE.

WE HAVE SEEN PROTESTS, PREVIOUS CHAPTERS OF THESE PROTESTS WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

THERE IS MUCH WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM.

IT APPEARS WE HAVE REACHED SORT OF A LOW POINT OF WHAT I CALL THE THRESHOLD OF DISSENT AND THAT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A HOPEFUL MOMENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE DEMANDING ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION AND THIS HISTORY SO THEY COME TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE CONFLICTS THAT MIGHT FOLLOW FROM A MORE INFORMED PERSPECTIVE, WHICH I REALLY RESPECT.

CRYSTAL: EMILY, AS YOU REPORT ON THIS, YOU MUST BE LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE YOURSELF AND HAVE QUESTIONS AROUND THE LEARNING -- THIS CONFLICT, BUT OTHER CONFLICTS YOU MAY HAVE TO REPORT ON LATER ON.

EMILY: YEAH, DEFINITELY.

I THINK IT HAS DEFINITELY BEEN DIFFICULT, CONSIDERING THE HISTORY AND THE DIVISIONS IN WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE HISTORY AND THIS CONFLICT OVERALL.

IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT I GUESS TO KIND OF GAUGE I GUESS WHERE -- WHAT WE SHOULD COVER AND WHAT WE SHOULDN’T, BECAUSE AS JOURNALISTS WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE CONTEXT TO A CONFLICT, BUT I THINK THAT’S KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE IN SOME WAYS TO GIVE ALL THE CONTEXT IN EVERY STORY.

IT HAS BEEN A BATTLE FOR ME PERSONALLY OF HOW MUCH HISTORY AND HOW MUCH I GUESS -- I DON’T KNOW, NUANCE WHY PUT INTO MY ARTICLES, WITH A LIMITED AMOUNT OF WORDS.

CRYSTAL: I IMAGINE IT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT FOR SOME TIME, SINCE THIS IS WHAT APPARENTLY FOLKS HAVE VOWED TO CONTINUE.

EMILY AND MARJORIE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

NEXT YEAR WILL MARK 50 YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR AND IN BOSTON MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY ARE WORKING TO CREATE A PERMANENT MONUMENT IN DORCHESTER’S TOWN FIELD PARK.

THE PROJECT IS CALLED 1975, A VIETNAMESE DIAZ BREATH COMMEMORATION INITIATIVE.

IT WILL DRAW ON STORIES, PHOTOS, AND EXPERIENCES OF ELDERS WHO FLED FROM THE WAR TO SHAPE THE INSTALLATION.

I AM JOINED BY THE CO-OWNERS OF THE INITIATIVE AND THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF MASSACHUSETTS.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

MALCOLM, I’M GOING TO START WITH YOU.

TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS INITIATIVE BECAUSE I IMAGINE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO ARE NOT IN THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY ARE NOT AWARE OF SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT BROUGHT FOLKS TO MASSACHUSETTS TO THE DORCHESTER AREA AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS INITIATIVE.

>> THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.

I WOULD SAY YEARS IN THE MAKING, ESPECIALLY SEEDS BEING PLANTED IN THE COMMUNITY.

NEXT YEAR, 2025, IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF BLACK APRIL AND THE VIETNAMESE DIASPORA.

REALLY IN THE COMMUNITY WANTING TO BUILD SOMETHING TO HAVE THE MARKER IN OUR COMMUNITY AND TO COMMEMORATE THESE STORIES, THE EXPERIENCE, THE LEGACY OF THE WAR.

THAT IS WHAT THIS INITIATIVE ENCAPSULATES.

CRYSTAL: SPEAKING OF LIVED EXPERIENCE, SO MANY FOLKS HAVE A DIRECT CONNECTION TO THIS PARTICULARLY TERRIBLE EVENT IN VIETNAMESE CULTURE, AND ALSO THE REBUILDING OF FAMILIES AFTERWARD.

>> MOST DEFINITELY, THIS IS AN INTERGENERATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

THE WAR HAS BEEN FOUGHT, THE WAR IS CONTINUING TO BE FOUGHT IN OUR MEMORY AS WELL AS THE WAYS WE HAVE BEEN PRESENTING THE TRAUMA OF THE WAR IN OUR OWN DAILY LIVES.

THAT IS IN THE ELDERS, IN OURSELVES, THE YOUNGER GENERATION, AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT GENERATIONS TO COME AS WELL.

THIS IS AN INTERGENERATIONAL EFFORT TO RESPECT THE PAST BUT ALSO SOMETHING TO EDUCATE AND CONNECT THE PRESENT GENERATIONS TO THE PAST, AND FOR LATER GENERATIONS TO STILL FEEL THEY ARE PART OF THIS DIASPORA WITH MORE TO, AS WELL.

CRYSTAL: WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO CONNECT THE GENERATIONS?

>> BECAUSE WE ARE A FAMILY.

I KNOW IN MY FAMILY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME AS THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO KNOW WHERE I COME FROM.

THERE IS A VIETNAMESE PROVERB, WHEN EATING THE FRUIT, NO WHO PRINTED -- PLANTED THE TREE.

OUR ELDERS ARE HERE.

THEY FLED THE COUNTRY, UPROOTED THEIR LIVES, THEY WERE DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES TO COME HERE AND SACRIFICED SO MUCH TO COME HERE.

WE ARE HERE LIVING OUT OUR DREAMS.

WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE OF OUR PARENTS, OUR ELDERS.

MYSELF AND JEN, WE ARE PART OF THE YOUNGER COMMUNITY OF REFUGEES FROM 1975 AS WELL.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR NOT ONLY OUR GENERATION TO REMEMBER THE SACRIFICES IN ORDER FOR US TO BE HERE, BUT FOR LATER GENERATIONS TO KNOW THAT IF YOU ARE PART OF THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, YOU ARE ALSO PART OF THIS HISTORY AS WELL.

CRYSTAL: TALK ABOUT HOW LONG IT HAS TAKEN FOR FINALLY A MONUMENT TRYING TO BE PUT INTO THE PARK AND ITS CONNECTION TO DORCHESTER -- DORCHESTER?

>> I CAME HERE IN 1984 WITH A TERRIBLE JOURNEY, ESCAPED BY BOAT, GOT TO THAILAND AND STAYED THERE FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS.

I WANTED TO BUILD A STRONG COMMUNITY WITH OUR GENERATION.

THEY CAME TO ME AND CONNECTED WITH THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY.

I HAVE KNOWN THEM FOR A WHILE BUT WHEN THEY BRING UP THE IDEA OF THE MEMORIAL PROJECT, IT’S A WONDERFUL ONE AND I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME.

THE YOUNG GENERATION REALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO THE ROOT WHERE THEY COME FROM.

WANT TO THANK THE OLD GENERATION WHO HAS SACRIFICED THEIR LIFE AND THEY WANT TO BUILD A STRONG COMMUNITY WITH THE HISTORY THAT CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN.

THE COMMUNITY COMES UP AND THEY ARE HAPPY TO SUPPORT WHATEVER THEY CAN TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN IN REALITY.

CRYSTAL: I IMAGINE IT FEELS GOOD SOMEONE IS TRYING TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT YOURSELF AND SO MANY OTHERS WENT THROUGH TO COME HERE AND LIVE -- PARDON THE -- THE AMERICAN DREAM, I GUESS.

CRYSTAL: THE ONLY THING SURPRISINGLY, MY GENERATION THAT WE REMEMBER ABOUT THE WAR, SOME OF THEM WERE BORN IN THIS COUNTRY BUT THEY CAME BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND WANTED TO HELP PERMIT THEIR EFFORTS ARE REALLY GOOD TO HELP THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY WITH THIS PROJECT.

I DIDN’T MENTION ANYTHING, SHE CALLED ME AND SAID, I WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TWO YEARS AGO.

BOTH OF THEM WORKED REALLY HARD AND NOW WE HAVE THE MOMENTUM TO GO ON.

HOPEFULLY IT WILL HAPPEN VERY SOON.

CRYSTAL: DO YOU THINK THIS WILL HELP TO ALLOW FOLKS OUTSIDE THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT FOLKS LIKE KHANG AND OTHERS WENT THROUGH, THE LEGACY YOU ALL ARE CARRYING ON AS WELL?

>> YES, IT IS PART OF IT.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE DORCHESTER COMMUNITY, AND NEW ENGLAND TO HAVE A PERMANENT REMINDER ON THE LEGACY OF WAR AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE VIETNAMESE DIASPORA COMMUNITY.

WE ARE MINDFUL THAT WE LIVE IN THE U.S.

AMONG SO MANY DIVERSE COMMUNITY.

AS MUCH AS THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE IS THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY, WE ARE ALSO MINDFUL OF THE NARRATIVE OF WAR RESONATING WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT ALSO SHARE THESE SIMILAR STORY OF MIGRATION AND DISPLACEMENT, ESPECIALLY CENTERING WAR.

WE ARE REALLY HOPEFUL IN THIS NARRATIVE BEING RESIDENT WITH SO MANY COMMITTEES AND THE EXPERIENCE OF DISPLACEMENT OF MIGRATION AND THE WAVES OF COMING TO AMERICA.

>> I WILL ADD TO THAT, I AM AN INSTRUCTOR IN ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES AT UMASS BOSTON, AND IN MY COURSE, ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES TO 94 -- 294, THAT IS NOT A COURSE THAT’S REQUIRED, IT IS CHOSEN BE TAKEN BY THE STUDENTS.

A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF MY STUDENTS ARE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN STUDENTS.

THEY COME INTO THE COURSE AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS, WHY ARE VIETNAMESE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES?

THAT’S NOT ONLY THE QUESTION THAT IS SHARED WITH STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, THAT IS ALSO STUDENTS IN THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

THEY TOO ARE YEARNING TO LEARN THE CONTACTS AND WHERE THEIR FAMILY STORIES SITUATE IN THOSE CONTESTS -- CONTEXTS.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THIS MEMORIAL, BECAUSE IT WILL BE AN EDUCATIVE PLATFORM AND A COMMEMORATIVE PLATFORM.

WAYS TO SHARE STORIES.

CRYSTAL: THERE IS A DOCUMENTARY AS WELL, RIGHT?

>> THERE ARE WAYS TO SHARE THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE VIETNAMESE DIASPORA AS WELL AS FOR MANY WIDER AUDIENCES AND COMMUNITIES TO SHARE, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF SHARED EXPERIENCES.

AS THE WORLD IS TODAY, THE DIASPORA COMMUNITIES CONTINUE TO MULTIPLY.

THERE ARE SOME OF THESE SACRIFICES OUR ELDERS HAVE SHARED SINCE 1965 WITH EVEN THE DIASPORA COMMUNITIES THAT SHAPE THE WORLD TODAY.

CRYSTAL: WHAT WAS IT LIKE COLLECTING THOSE STORIES?

>> THESE STORIES INTERGENERATIONAL HE DASHED INTERGENERATIONALLY?

SOMEBODY ASKED THIS BEFORE AND I WILL USE THE SAME WORD, IT HAS BEEN VERY POWERFUL.

TALKING ABOUT THE VIETNAMESE DIASPORA COMMUNITY IN GENERAL, THERE ARE A LOT OF MEMBERS WHO WANT TO TELL THESE STORIES, THEY JUST HAVE NOT BEEN PUT IN SAFE PLACES TO TELL THESE STORIES, OR THEY FEEL THE STORIES DON’T MATTER IN THE GREATER NARRATIVE OF AMERICA.

BUT THEY TOTALLY MATTER.

ANY STORIES OF EXPERIENCES SINCE THE VIETNAM WAR OR THE AMERICAN WAR IN VIETNAM, AS SOME PEOPLE CALL IT, ALL MATTER.

SOMEHOW WE HAVE BEEN SOCIALIZED TO BELIEVE THEY DON’T MATTER.

IT HAS BEEN POWERFUL FOR FOLKS IN THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY TO REGAIN THAT POWER, RECLAIM THOSE STORIES AS THEIR OWN, AND THOSE ARE THE DOMINANT NARRATIVES THAT SHOULD EXIST IN GLOBAL AND AMERICAN SOCIETY.

CRYSTAL: ABSOLUTELY.

I AM CURIOUS, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE LAST WORD, WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOLKS WILL TAKE AWAY FROM BOTH THIS DOCUMENTARY PROJECT AND THIS MONUMENT?

WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE, VIETNAMESE AND NON-VIETNAMESE, TAKE FROM IT?

>> I NOTICED ON APRIL 28 WHEN THEY DO THE EVENT, THE ROOM WITH 200 PEOPLE.

THE YOUNG GENERATION, TUTOR -- TWO THIRDS COMING.

WHEN I CAME HERE, I THOUGHT MY GENERATION ENDED AND THE NEXT GENERATION WILL BE TOTALLY AMERICAN AND DON’T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING.

THAT COULD BE A MISTAKE.

WHEN I SEE THE OLD GENERATION REALLY CARE AND WANT TO FIGHT ABOUT THIS PROJECT.

SO I THINK MOST PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW.

MY KIDS, THEY KNOW I AM A REFUGEE BUT THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE WHY I AM HERE AND MY STORY HOW I ESCAPED BY BOAT WITH 18 PEOPLE, TURNED OUT TO BE 38 PEOPLE.

WE MAKE IT SEVEN-DAY AND 90% WE DIE, BUT WE MAKE IT.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STORY, YOU WILL SEE HOW THE OLD GENERATION SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR THE YOUNG GENERATION.

MY DAD SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN PRISON.

THEY CAME TO LEARN AND THEY WANT TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT.

IT IS A HUGE MOMENTUM.

CRYSTAL: AMAZING STORIES AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE PROGRESS.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING WITH US.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE 1975, A VIETNAMESE COMMEMORATION INITIATIVE OVERVIEW, GO TO TR ANVUARTS.COM.

THAT’S IT FOR TONIGHT, BUT COME BACK HERE TOMORROW.

AFTER THE KILLINGS OF ERIC GARNER AND GEORGE FLOYD, POLICE HAVE FOCUSED ON USING SO-CALLED LESS LETHAL FORCE, BUT A NEW FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY COVERS HOW OFTEN THOSE TACTICS TURN DEADLY.

I WILL TALK TO THE DIRECTORY.

PLUS, ONE OF MANY PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS MOVING ON TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THAT AND MORE TOMORROW AT 7:00.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

GOOD NIGHT.

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