More than a decade ago, Sheng Thao was living in her car, unsure where she’d find her next meal. Now, she becomes the youngest mayor of Oakland, California, in 75 years and the first Hmong American to lead a major city.
Sheng Thao, the new mayor of Oakland, Calif., says she is interested in impacting the lives of those who live on the margins.A little more than a decade ago, Sheng Thao was living in her car and sleeping on strangers’ couches with her newborn son, unsure where she’d find her next meal.
Born to Hmong refugees who fled genocide in Laos during the Vietnam War, Thao grew up living in poverty in Stockton, California, the seventh of 10 children. She lived in public housing most of her life and, in her early 20s, became involved with an abusive partner who left her pregnant and homeless, she said.
Mayor-elect Sheng Thao is greeted by supporters following a news conference at City Hall in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 23, 2022.NBC Asian America: You’re the first Hmong American to become mayor of a major city. How did your heritage and background shape your view on American politics and mold your progressive beliefs?We’re very clan- based so we truly take care of each other. We work off a clan system and pick presidents at a community level.
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