ABOUT
April 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War — an event that led to the resettlement of 125,000 Vietnamese refugees in the United States, and the largest refugee resettlement in American history.
In 1975, the Archdiocese of New Orleans helped rehome 200 Vietnamese families in New Orleans, split between New Orleans East and the West Bank. Both populations have flourished in the intervening half century, with Vietnamese food, language, and identity becoming a significant part of the New Orleans cultural landscape.
Some of the earliest Vietnamese immigrants to New Orleans became integral parts of the fishing and shrimping communities in the Gulf, others opened businesses like Dong Phuong Bakery that have remained mainstays of the Vietnamese community, others continued to cultivate the fresh produce that they missed from back home.
This project is a collaboration between Sông Community Development Corporation, Tulane’s Center for Public Service, and four sections of Professor Daniella Zalcman’s Community Engagement Journalism class at Tulane University.
THANK YOU to everyone who made this project possible:
Community Member Participants:
Anh Luu, Chung Ba Sang, Cindy Trần, Cyndi Nguyễn, Danny Nguyễn, E. M. Trần, Father Luke Nguyễn, John-Hoà Nguyễn, Ánh Joseph Cao, Ken Nguyễn, Kevin Trần, Long Dương, Margaret Nguyễn, Peter Nguyễn, Phúc Nguyễn, Quang Huỳnh, Quỳnh Ngô, Sean Nguyễn, Sinh Nguyễn, Thúy Phạm, Vy Linh Kỳ
Community Partners:
Tập Bùi + Khải Nguyễn, Sông Community Development Corporation
Designer: Sam Nga Blum
Translator: Khanh Nguyễn
Students (Community Interviews):
Alexa Langlois, Alexa Trapani, Ava Ehrlich, Bethany Milner, Blake Little, Caleb Schroeder, Caroline Caudron, Claire Lewis, Delaney Knopp, Dylan Boling, Dylan Solomon, Eladia Michaels, Eleanor Fazio, Eli Schwartz, Ella Clemens, Elsa Mushkin, Emma Sharp, Georgia May, Henry Baird, Jasmine Young, Kat Collier, Katie Schwartz, Kimarie Payne, Kyle Nguyen, Lexi Whitehouse, Madison Mariam, Makenzie Sanders, Mia Aleman, Mika Nijhawan, Nicole Weinstein, Olivia Njoh-Mbengue, Olivia O'Bell, Samiyah Panjabi, Shea Kelly, Sheldi Kyin, Xiomara Guzman, Zara Kovner
Students (Exhibition Texts + Curation):
Ella Ahn, Jessica Hackett, Mariia Kovalenko, Samuel Ufkes, Sara Hassan
Contributing Photographers:
Mark Sindler / Historic New Orleans Collection, H. J. Patterson / Historic New Orleans Collection, Stephen Hiltner / The New York Times, Emily Kask, Jim West, S. Leo Chiang, Bao Nguyễn / Walking Iris Media, Jasmine Young, Peter Phạm, Infrogmation of New Orleans, The Times Picayune, The Clarion Herald, Chief Petty Officer John Kepsimelis / U.S. Coast Guard, Alex Brandon / The Associated Press, Ron Sachs / Abaca
Supporting Partners:
Tulane Libraries
Tulane Center for Public Service
Special Thanks:
Allison Truitt, Bridget Smith, David Grunfeld, Dhehir Kelly, Heather Green, Jana Lipman, Katherine Hicks, Lindsay Cronk, Minh Nguyễn, Sarah Waits, Uyên Đinh, Historic New Orleans Collection, Archdiocese of New Orleans