Hai Giang: Transformative Journey in Finding Political Voice
Main Image description: Text reads “Hai Giang.” Image of scattered native Georgia flora over a layered watercolor background in shades of pink, blue and purple. Flora include: Crossvine (with bee) and a Cherokee Rose. At the center is a circle image of Hai looking seriously at the camera, outside with lush green and light pink floral foliage behind him. Below is the text, “Asian Americans…We have a lot of power, and we have a lot of agency…We have incredibly loud, strong, opinionated voices that need to be heard.” Bottom center is Asian American Advocacy Fund’s organizational logo and “Georgia on my mind” above a Monarch butterfly.
About Hai Giang
Pronouns: he/him
Age: 29
Location: New Orleans, LA
Organization: Bully Pulpit Interactive
Dedicated to: Animal advocacy, immigration reform, women’s rights, lgbtq+ rights
Finds joy in: Animal rescue, activism, public transit, exercising
Inspired by: Southern activism, queer voices, nature
Frequently used emojis: 👿 😘
Social Media Handles: @areyouhai on Instagram, @gianghai on Twitter, @hai.giang on TikTok
Self Introduction:
I’m Hai Giang, I’m a 29-year-old analytics director based in New Orleans. I grew up in the Georgia suburbs. My family and I are Vietnamese refugees, and I came to the U.S. when I was three years old. Now I reside in New Orleans with my partner and my four pets. I’m best known for being a contestant on Survivor, Season 42.
Hai, in conversation with the Asian American Advocacy Fund. This Q&A was edited for grammar and clarity. Photographs are from Hai’s personal collection.
Can you tell us about your journey to find your self identity and political views?
Growing up in an immigrant community, I was unaware of how conservative the mindset was of the collective group. I was never aligned with these more conservative stances. We grew up very poor. My family was on social welfare until I was in high school. So I understand what it feels like to have nothing. It wasn’t until high school that I discovered who I was as an individual. I was more empathetic towards the plight of poor and disenfranchised people. These are things that I really explored in college. After college, I started understanding how our society is constructed to benefit the middle and upper classes, even though we are built on the idea of American freedom and opportunity for all. As a Vietnamese refugee who is now pretty financially comfortable, I know what it’s like to be on the other end of the spectrum. These are all different circumstances that shape my worldview today.
Can you tell us about your political activism journey with your family?
My journey in politics has been transformative and taken me on a very wild ride and required me to be very introspective. My mother, she’s someone who I never really talked politics with that much. But in 2018, I made an effort to talk to my mom about the importance of voting. She could see my passion about helping Stacey Abrams elected as Georgia’s first Black woman governor. I highlighted why Stacey would be important to her as a refugee and as a woman business owner, and she really liked the ideas that Stacey stood for. So she voted for Abrams in 2018–the first time she’d voted since coming to the U.S. in 1996.
Then came the 2020 election. I had a moment of reckoning when there was a rise of anti-China, anti-Democrat rhetoric coming from the older Vietnamese community members. A lot of us as refugees and immigrants depended on social welfare programs to survive. But some community members expressed support for Donald Trump and the Republican party who were explicitly anti-immigrant and anti-social welfare. It didn’t make sense to me. It felt like it came out of nowhere. My own mother was now the opposite of me politically. I had to understand how this could happen. She raised me to be this vocal, opinionated, passionate person, and this didn’t feel aligned with the values I know she believed in and practiced.
That’s when I discovered the misinformation that was so prominent in Vietnamese language media channels. As an English speaker, I have access to many more media sources. For my mother and other elder Vietnamese folks, they don’t have access to very much information in their language. They watch Vietnamese channels on YouTube or Facebook, and a lot of time, those are propaganda channels that are pro-Republican or pro-conservative ideologies and are shaping an entire group or generation of Vietnamese Americans.
How has this misinformation been so effective in the Vietnamese community?
While I was shocked at the stance of my mother and community, and it’s easy to vilify people and their opinions, I needed to understand what in their lived experience made them support such conservative views that are against their own interests. A lot of it has to do with this anti-Communist sentiment that the Republican Party was feeding her through these YouTube propoganda channels. If you hear over and over that the U.S. Democratic Party are a bunch of Communists, and you came over the ocean to flee Communism, you’re going to be scared of the U.S. Democratic Party. Donald Trump is very anti-China, and a lot of Vietnamese immigrants are very anti-China because of the conflict that’s happened between China and Vietnam for decades.
My mother applied to bring her brothers and sisters over from Vietnam over 13 years ago, and when Trump took office, he tried to pass a law that would limit the number of legal green cards in half. That would actually make her queue that much longer in the process. But this isn’t the information she’s getting from her news outlets. So if she had the full breadth of information, she could make a much more informed political decision.
What responsibility do you feel for your community?
As Asian Americans, no matter how far we get from the diaspora, there’s this intrinsic thing that we’re taught growing up that revolves around familial identity and hardship. My successes in life aren’t just for me as an individual, they are for my family and for my community. A big reason I went on national television this last spring was for all the refugee and immigrant kids out there who could see themselves in me. I don’t want to be put on a pedestal as a mold or role model that young kids have to try to emulate, but I want to be an example of someone who came from a similar situation as them and became a successful adult in the U.S. That’s really important for kids who are underrepresented and don’t have a voice in the media.
I want young Asian Americans to feel empowered to speak up when they disagree with something. We’re raised to save face and be agreeable especially when it comes to our family and elders. But if someone is in a position to speak up when they hear misinformation or ideas that are outright false, please do so. I know it’s scary and intimidating but I promise you the first time you exercise your voice for something that you’re passionate about, it will build your confidence for the next time it happens. I want young Asian Americans to have some agency over their community’s beliefs and opinions.
What is at stake in this election?
In Georgia, I don’t think people understand the weight of the governor’s position, especially with some upcoming Supreme Court cases. Moore v. Harper is coming up next month. It’s the scariest case. The Supreme Court will decide whether or not state legislatures get the sole power to determine how elections are held. A lot of Southern states have gerrymandered maps passed by Republican legislatures. State courts have ruled that the maps are racially divisive and designed to suppress votes and gain advantages. Now we have a Supreme Court packed with Trump appointed justices who might give way too much power to state legislators to determine their elections. So having Stacey Abrams as governor would give her veto power for something that would give Republicans an unfair advantage and that is illegal. There is a lot riding on this election, and the most dangerous thing as an American is to become disengaged with your democracy. Your vote is your biggest sense of power in this country.
My goal for this election is to get my mom out to vote for Stacey Abrams for Governor again. I have a good feeling that this will be the right time for Stacey Abrams to win!
If you’re trying to convince your parents, grandparents, or someone in your bubble to vote and they feel insecure or anxious because there is a language barrier, there’s a law that allows you to go into a voting booth and translate for them. That’s what I did for my mother, and that’s a big reason why she agreed to vote in the first place.
What are your hopes for the future? For the Asian American community specifically?
I hope for young people to be politically engaged in ways that feel valuable to them, whether that’s through sharing memes online or through volunteering and canvassing for their preferred candidates. It doesn’t matter who you’re rooting for as long as you’re engaged and passionate about it. I think apathy will be the biggest factor in determining whether young people vote. Older, more conservative voters are more energized when it comes to voting in midterm elections. We have to stay engaged or else it allows for corrupt powers to take control.
For Asian Americans, it’s easy to see ourselves as a small minority within the U.S. political system. But look at 2020 Georgia election results where the vote came down to a 13,000 vote split. Asian American voters helped push Georgia over the finish line and turn it blue. We are a small fraction of the U.S. population, but we have a lot of power, and we have a lot of agency. We can’t just let people ignore our voices. We have incredibly loud, strong, opinionated voices that need to be heard. I hope the next generation of Asian Americans continue building on the momentum of their predecessors because there’s incredible energy and we all need to understand the power of our collective voice.
The Asian American Advocacy Fund is a grassroots 501(c)4 social welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia.
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#GeorgiaOnMyMind gives voice to diverse perspectives, life experiences, and viewpoints. With a vision for a thriving future, we share this series to shift and shape public narratives about Georgians who care about their communities and are fighting for social justice.
