Voting ad for Tou Xiong’s candidacy for Maplewood City Council.
Tou Ger is a big advocate in supporting his fellow Hmong people. So when you see a Hmong American running for something big, like city council, Tou Ger is on it. This time, he supported Tou Xiong, a candidate for the Maplewood City Council in Minnesota. He invited his family and friends on Facebook to vote for Tou Xiong, in hopes that they would also follow his advocacy. With Tou Ger’s help, Tou Xiong was elected as the new city council in Maplewood, MN with 3222 votes (30%). According to Tou Ger’s Facebook post (below), Tou Xiong becomes the first American-born elected official of Hmong heritage.
A big congrats to Tou Xiong on his success, and a big thank you for Tou Ger’s support in his community!
Served on the Minnesota Community Service Task Force, 1992-1993.
Served on the Minnesota’s School of Tomorrow Task Force, 1994-1995.
Conducted and presented his research at Carleton College entitled, “Why Asian Americans Don’t Vote”,
Created Project Respectism, a community service project that uses the performance arts to combat racism and provide multicultural education and awareness, 1996-Present.
The following video is Tou Ger Xiong performing at the Arts & Social Symposium: An Open Dialogue on October 12th and 13th, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. This is a short video that highlights his performance about the experience in the school system as a Hmong refugee kid in America, how his parents stressed the importance of education, and Hmong history & culture.
Served on the Minnesota Commission on Violence Prevention, 1997.
Co-founded CAAR (Community Action Against Racism), a citizen’s group which led a successful 6-month, multiracial campaign against the radio station KQRS as an effort combat media racism, 1997.
Served on Hmong American Partnership’s Board of Directors, 1997-2003.
Served as Board Chair, 2001-2003.
Co-Chaired the Hmong American Partnership Capital Campaign Committee to research, fundraise, and build a new $4 Million building, St. Paul, 2002-2003.
Served on the Hmong National Development Board of Directors, Washington, DC, 2002-2006.
Served on the campaign team for Eastsiders for Mee Moua, which resulted in the election of the first Hmong State Senator in MN history, 2002.
Co-founded CCR (Coalition for Community Relations), a citizens’ watch group formed to promote social justice in the wake of the Chai Soua Vang hunting incident in Wisconsin. This group led the efforts to bring transparency and fairness to our justice system by going to observe the criminal trial in Hayward, Wisconsin and reporting its’ findings to the community and media, 2005.
Served on Senator Mee Moua’s Re-election Team, 2006.
Served on the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center and Neighborhood House Capital Campaign Committee, 2005-2006.
Led a community group to seek justice for the murder of Cha Vang, a Wisconsin refugee hunter who was killed in Peshtigo, WI by a fellow white hunter, 2007.
Participated in CUPB (Communities United Against Police Brutality) and the “Seeking Justice for Fong Lee Committee”, a community effort to build trust and positive relations between the Minneapolis Police Department, the Mayor’s Office, and surrounding minority communities, 2009.
Participated in a community campaign to seek justice for the mysterious death of Jason Yang, 2010.
Served on Foung Hawj’s Senatorial Campaign Team, 2010 and 2012.
Copyright: This information is taken from “Success That Looks Like Me,” a book and film documentary about the messages and biographies of 25 successful and extraordinary Hmong men and women from across the U.S.
Tou Ger has done many community services throughout his entire career. Of them, he has volunteered for the Feed My Starving Children foundation multiple times. This year, he volunteered in February and another time just earlier this month.
On Saturday, October 10th, Tou Ger, his wife (Andrea Bennett Xiong) and his Team Ninja Fast volunteered for a packing session. Altogether, the foundation was able to pack 1,211 boxes and 261,567 meals. This totals up to feeding 717 children for a year. Below are pictures taken during Tou Ger’s volunteer services at the Feed My Starving Children foundation.
Tou Ger Bennett Xiong 