SR 38 — A resolution to commemorate April 20-26, 2025, as Black April Memorial Week.

SR-38,MICHIGAN As Adopted by Senate, April 30, 2025 SENATE RESOLUTIONSenate NO.Resolution No.

38 Offered by Senators Damoose, Chang and Geiss offeredA RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE APRIL 20-26 ,2025 , AS BLACK APRIL MEMORIAL WEEK WHEREAS, April 30, 2025, marks the following50th resolution:anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the start of the eventual exodus of several million Vietnamese out of Vietnam after South Vietnam’s capital of Saigon fell to the communists on April 30, 1975;

Aand resolutionWHEREAS, toFor commemoratemany AprilVietnam 20-26,and 2025,Vietnam-era asveterans Blackwho Aprilwere Memorialdirectly Week.involved in the war, and Vietnamese Americans who have settled in the United States (U.S.), the Vietnam War was a tragedy full of great suffering and the loss of American, Vietnamese, and South- east Asian lives;

Whereas,and AprilWHEREAS, 30,Over 2025,58,000 markspeople thewere 50thkilled anniversaryand of304,000 thewere endwounded ofout the Vietnam War and the start of the eventual2.59 exodus of several million VietnameseAmericans outwho ofserved Vietnamin after South Vietnam’s capital of Saigon fell to the communistsVietnam onWar. April 30, 1975;

and Whereas, For many Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who were directly involved in the war, and Vietnamese Americans who have settled in the United States (U.S.), the Vietnam War was a tragedy full of great suffering and the loss of American, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian lives;

and Whereas, Over 58,000 people were killed and 304,000 were wounded out of the 2.59 million Americans who served in the Vietnam Black April_SR38_AA_1 bv903x 1 War.

and Whereas,WHEREAS, South Vietnamese armed forces lost 275,000 soldiers and many more were wounded, along with an unknown number of Vietnamese civilian casualties;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, During the American evacuation of Saigon, the first wave of 135,000 Vietnamese who were mostly military officers and their families, took temporary shelter through several international refugee camps at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, FortFort Chaffee Chaffee in Arkansas, and Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, Starting in 1977 and lasting through the mid-1980s, a second wave of Vietnamese refugees comprised mostly of “boatboat people”people began leaving Vietnam.

and Whereas,WHEREAS, After 1985, a third wave of Vietnamese refugees came to the U.S.

and Whereas,WHEREAS, In 1988, Congress passed the Operation Homecoming Act, a program allowing approximately 80,000 Amerasian children (offspring of GI fathers and Vietnamese mothers) to come to America;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, By 1990, the fourth wave of Vietnamese refugees began arriving in the U.S.

Black April_SR38_AA_1 bv903x 1 and Whereas,WHEREAS, Census data shows that foreign-born Vietnamese entering the U.S.

and Whereas,WHEREAS, Over the years, Vietnamese immigrants have overcome social, economic, and language barriers of unforeseen magnitude to grow and become the most assimilated along civic dimensions out of any large group in America;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, Through emphasis on intense study, Vietnamese Americans have reached the pinnacles of American success in a variety of fields including business and entrepreneurship, science and technology, space travel, medicine, the U.S.

and Whereas,WHEREAS, In order to serve their community and prosper in America, Vietnamese Americans formed well-established and thriving commercial districts throughout the U.S., including an enclave in southeast Oakland County and in west Michigan;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, More than 25,276 Vietnamese live in Michigan;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, We must teach our children and future generations the important lessons from the Vietnam War, including how the plight of the Vietnamese refugees following the end of war is a powerful example of the values of freedom and democracy;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, Refugees and immigrants from the former Republic of Vietnam, who came to the U.S.

and settled as free Vietnamese Americans, are honored and remembered for their sacrifices of freedom, human rights, and for their ongoing contributions to our Black April_SR38_AA_1 bv903x 1 democratic society;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, The Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom flag, which is yellow with three horizontal red stripes, is the only symbol that can unite most Vietnamese around the world and bring them together, showing the aspiration for freedom and democracy in their homeland;

and Whereas,WHEREAS, Although united in sorrow as they commemorate April 30, 2025, as Black April, an occasion to reflect on the sacrifices of the past, Vietnamese American communities throughout Michigan consider Black April a memorial and remembrance of the resilience of the Vietnamese people;

now, therefore, be it ResolvedRESOLVED byBY theTHE Senate,SENATE, That the members of this legislative body commemorate April 20-26, 2025, as Black April Memorial Week.

BlackAdopted April_SR38_AA_1by bv903xthe Senate, April 30, 2025.

Secretary of the Senate