Vietnamese Americans: Black April

Monday, April 28, 2008

Some of these have already passed, but here's a list of Black April events that you can still attend:

The local Vietnamese American community commemorates this month as Black April to mark the events of April 30, 1975 when the communist regime took over in Vietnam.

A majority of Little Saigon residents are refugees, who fled Vietnam by boat after the fall of Saigon. Here are some of the local events being organized to mark the occasion:

— Youth Conference about Black April from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the Westminster Community Center, 8200 Westminster Blvd.

— Official Black April Ceremony at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the Westminster Vietnam War Memorial, 14180 All American Way.

— Protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, April 28. Bus will leave the parking lot of Little Saigon Radio at 15781 Brookhurst St. at 10 a.m.

— UC Irvine's Vietnamese American Coalition will host its 2nd annual Black April Commemoration at Doheny Beach A in the UCI Student Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 29.

— Prayer ceremony for those who lost their lives on Wednesday, April 30 at noon in the grassy area in front of A Dong Market Mall, 9221 Bolsa Ave.

For more information check out the Vietnamese Community of Southern California at 714-539-1607 or visit their Web site at www.cdvnnamcali.com.