American Vs. Vietnamese

African Americans vs. the Vietnamese

Immigrant groups have contributed much toward shaping America's history, often against considerable odds. My family, who were descendents from Vietnam, can certainly relate to the experience that African Americans faced as they migrated north. They have shared many similar experiences, though differences can be easily identified. Most immigrants came to seek personal freedom or relief from persecution, while others arrived to flee war, civil unrest, and various oppressive regimes. Some even experienced prolonged periods of violence and turmoil, but redefined themselves, as well as America in the process. They proved that the United States provided them with opportunities which aided them to greatly contribute to the nation.

The Vietnamese and the Blacks faced very contrasting difficulties upon arrival. The Vietnamese began migrating to the United States in the 1970's and 1980's while the Blacks to migrated North in the early 1920s. My family was known as the "boat people" for having fled their home countries in small vessels. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese began to escape Vietnam. Some, including a few of my family members, drowned in the South China Sea, died of hunger and dehydration, or were tragically raped or killed by pirates. Upon arrival, they settled mostly on the west coast and gradually migrated east. The Vietnamese faced cultural, economic, and social difficulties in the United States. Asian immigrants also faced the additional barriers of linguistic, ethnic, and religious differences between them and the North Americans. In addition, those arriving as refugees were extremely poor and have often seen the deaths and disappearances of friends and family. Conversely, the African Americans were already familiar to the U.S. and adapted to the American culture and way of life. They settled mostly in the southeast and slowly migrated north. African Americans eventually migrated out of the South because of various reasons. They experienced environmental problems such as floods in Alabama and Mississippi, and there were also better wages in the north. The north had a very high demand for labor due to the prohibition of European workers and as a result, hired African Americans for industrial work with lower wages. They also faced much oppression and injustice by enduring in the slave system. Therefore, the persecution and abuse from many of the white communities was an important motivation for the movement. They experienced extended periods of violence and strife. The prejudice continued to exist in the north even though slavery was illegal in the U.S. Unlike the Vietnamese, they dealt with harsh remarks regarding their skin color and experienced a great deal of discrimination. However, African Americans also had an advantage due to their familiarity with the American culture, had no difficulty adapting to American society, and also spoke English. African Americans faced less concern when searching for a job and had far less trouble interacting with Americans.

Living conditions were also distinct between the Vietnamese and African Americans. When my family settled in the U.S., African Americans were already prosperous and maintained good living conditions in the North. We lived in an apartment complex with some of our relatives who were already settled in America. African Americans by this time were experiencing more success and had a descent living environment because they were being accepted for more jobs and received better wages. Around the 1980s, the Vietnamese immigrants were fairly poor and had much difficulty finding jobs, thus resulted in poorer housing. The ideal problem for the Vietnamese from my experience was learning how to speak English. Most of the first generation immigrants from Asia remained primarily within the social and cultural framework of their particular immigrant community. In contrast, their offspring, or those who migrated when they were very young, were generally more able to operate within both traditional and cultural societies. Thus, African Americans seemed to have the upper hand in the social and economic sense and were more successful than the Vietnamese due to their understanding of American life.

The Vietnamese and African Americans did in fact share a few similarities such as what methods they used to create a sense community and unity once they arrived in America. As with many immigrant groups, they interacted and catered people that shared the same background and culture