Public vigil for activist and comedian Tou Ger Xiong scheduled for Saturday in Woodbury
This story comes to you from Sahan Journal through a partnership with MPR News.
The family and friends of activist and comedian Tou Ger Xiong will hold a public vigil in his memory Saturday evening at East Ridge High School in Woodbury.
The vigil is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The vigil will feature videos of Xiong, songs, prayers, spoken word, and several community members scheduled to speak in his remembrance, including St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
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“Tou Ger exemplifies the profound impact one individual can have on the collective conscience, inspiring us all to stand up, speak out, and strive for a society built on fairness, compassion, and equality,” Tou Ger’s brother, Eh Xiong, told Sahan Journal.
Tou Ger, 50, was found dead in Medellin, Colombia, last week after a date with a woman led to a group of men kidnapping him on December 10 and asking his family for a $2,000 ransom. They killed Xiong without collecting the money, according to El Colombiano, a daily newspaper in Colombia.
Colombian authorities have since arrested a woman in the case.
Eh Xiong said he and other family members and friends are currently working on bringing Tou Ger’s body back home to Minnesota. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Tou Ger’s sudden death left many in the community reeling, and prompted tributes from community members, local Hmong leaders, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, and Governor Tim Walz.
Tou Ger was well known in the Twin Cities as a storyteller and activist, and had a broad reach in Hmong communities across the United States. He was born in Laos in 1973, and fled the country with his family in 1975 after the end of the Vietnam War. The family eventually immigrated to St. Paul, where he attended Humboldt High School. He later received a political science degree from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Pakou Hang, a longtime community advocate who was close to Tou Ger, said he had “an amazing” effect on the Hmong community through his ability to bridge generational gaps. This included gaining the respect of Hmong elders, appealing to his own generation with routines like his “Go Hmong Boy” stage persona, and appealing to younger generations as “Uncle Funny,” another persona.
“‘Go Hmong Boy’ was about celebrating Hmong culture and not being ashamed,” Hang said. “‘As ’Uncle Funny,’ he was encouraging Hmong kids to learn the Hmong language; how to say the alphabet, how to count from one to 10.”
Hang met Tou Ger in the early 2000s while both worked on Mee Moua’s first campaign for state senator. She recalled one night they went to unwind at a bar on St. Paul’s East Side after a long day of campaigning.
“We walked in and were clearly the only people of color,” Hang said. “I remember thinking, ‘This is not safe.’”
But as Hang was thinking this, Tou Ger had already grabbed a table, ordered drinks, and was making the rounds introducing himself to patrons at the bar and telling them about Moua’s campaign. Then, he performed karaoke, singing James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good).”
“By the end of the night, everybody knew him on a first name basis and I was thinking, ‘Maybe we have a chance of winning,’” she said of Moua’s campaign, which eventually proved victorious.
How to attend the vigil
What: Community vigil to remember Tou Ger Xiong.
Where: East Ridge High School, 4200 Pioneer Drive, Woodbury, MN 55129.
When: Saturday, December 23, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Endowment fund: Tou Ger’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers and gifts, donations can be made to the Tou Ger Xiong Endowment Fund.
“More information on the endowment fund will be coming very soon,” said a statement from his family. “In the interim, the Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA) has graciously offered to accept and hold donations on our behalf.”
Donations can be made here