APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The City of Appleton makes Wisconsin history.
Through the reading of a proclamation read by Mayor Tim Hannah, May 14 is now Hmong American Day in Appleton.
Karen Nelson, Diversity Coordinator in the City of Appleton says it has taken over 40 years, but members of the Hmong culture have achieved the American Dream in Appleton as they have become business owners and professionals in many fields.
“We want to validate how much of a contributing citizen they really are, and literally pulling themselves up by the bootstraps that they did not even have the boots for.”
Nelson says the Hmong community started arriving in Wisconsin in 1975, and many moved to Appleton.
Since then, she says many have become a big part of the Appleton population and make up a majority of the non-white population in the city.
“They have come a long way and we want to celebrate for them and with them and we want the entire community to embrace their value as contributing citizens.”
Since their arrival, the Hmong community has provided Appleton with their history, culture and business knowledge.
To see just how much of a part that the Hmong community is in Appleton, you need not look any further than the City Council, as Maiyoua Thao, a member of the Hmong Community and longtime Appleton resident, was recently elected and was part of this historic moment.
“To me, it means a lot that our community recognizes our work and our connections to citizens.”
Thao says Appleton has become very welcoming, but it was not always that way.
“It was not really welcoming or accepting of different cultures.”
She says her election to the city council not only proves the acceptance but also is a way to give the Hmong community a new voice in the city.
There are over 3,000 Hmong in Appleton.
