April: Shades of Yellow
Back home in South Asia, this is usually considered the month that heralds the arrival of spring, and new beginnings. And the dominant color of the season is yellow — from the fields of mustard everywhere that are ablaze with it. A lot of songs celebrating the season make reference to the mustard flowers, including one of my favorites that celebrates the relationship between one of South Asia’s most famous Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325 CE) and his disciple, one of South Asia’s most famous poets/musicians, Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 CE)— songs that reference cross-dressing too!
So here’s where the heralding something new and the yellow come in. My pick for this month’s group is Shades of Yellow. It’s a relatively new organization that’s based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota and is the world’s first LGBTQ Hmong community-based organization. They describe themselves as:
Shades of Yellow (SOY) is a nonprofit Hmong LGBTQ organization that provides support, education, and advocacy to Hmong LGBTQ and allies. We are committed to creating a community that is aware of the issues that Hmong LGBTQ face. We are base out of the Twin Cities, MN. While we have capacity here, we are committed to providing support and education all across the nation if needed. Please do contact us if you and/or anyone you know need(s) our support.
MISSION
Support a community of empowered Hmong LGBTQ to create positive cultural and social changes that enhance their lives and communities.
VISION
We will see a Hmong community that is aware, supportive, and engaged in Hmong LGBTQ issues.
VALUES
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
•Being Civically Engaged
•Being inclusive of a diverse community
•Be of service to the community
CULTURAL PROGRESS
•Value fluidity of culture
•Recognizing and valuing the past’s influence on the future
•Cultural acceptance and awareness of diversity
SOCIAL CHANGE
•A passion for the issues
•Commitment to Equity
•Challenging ourselves and the community
•Creating an informed and equitable society
Last month, they got written up about in the Minnesota Daily, which covered their first major event, “Txuj Ci Showcase: An Evening of Queer & Ally Hmong Talents” that featured mostly Hmong performers, with talents ranging from hip-hop dancers and spoken word artists to drag queens.
So, why Shades of Yellow?
They stood out for me for a number of reasons. They’re the first Hmong LGBTQ group. They are community-based and led. They have a vision of the world — and of social change — that sees their community as part of a larger whole and recognizes the intersections not just of oppression but of justice and rights, and the possibilities of change. They come from, are made up of, and serve a community that itself has gone through enormous trauma, oppression and dislocation at so many levels.
They began as an informal group in 2003 and have built over the years to the point where in 2009 they hired an executive director. They are small, and support for them will make a real difference. They (along with the other groups I thought about for this are all grantees of RESIST, which I was on the Board of for many years and that funds some of the most amazing organizations across all 50 states, and over the last 40+ years has funded some that have become leadership organizations in the wider progressive movement in the country).
How to donate to Shades of Yellow? This is the information they provide on their website:
DONATION VIA CHECK: Please consider donating to SOY. You can send a check made out to”Hmong American Partnership” re: SOY (in the memo line) to 379 University Ave. W #204, St. Paul, MN 55103.
DONATION VIA CREDIT CARDSOY does not yet have a Credit Card payment system hooked to our website. If you would like to donate via Credit Card, you can send your credit card information via secured email to:
kevin.xiong@shadesofyellow.org for processing through HAP’s Credit Card system.
Please include:
-Name on card
-Address
-Email Address
-Phone Number
-Amount
-Card Number
-Card Type
-Security Code (on back)
-Expiration Date
SOY would like to acknowledge Hmong American Partnership (HAP) for being a wonderful Host and Fiscal Agent to SOY, but most importantly for being a great ally to the work SOY is committed to do. THANK YOU!!!
There were four other groups I looked at — all of which are great. I don’t know if it would be kosher to mention them here since we were asked to pick one. But I’m happy to let folks know if you want. They’re in Arkansas, Tennessee, Utah and Rhode Island respectively.
