Cottage Grove, MN — May Lee Xiong is reimagining education to support Black, Indigenous and people of color to thrive in schools that celebrate their diverse identities. She grew up in Minnesota feeling disconnected from her own Hmong culture. After hearing the stories of her resilient immigrant parents, she began to truly embrace her heritage. As an educator leading Hmong language revitalization efforts, she helped co-create the Hmong Studies and Hmong Dual Language programs at Phalen Elementary School in Saint Paul. With her Bush Fellowship, she will seek ways to deepen her understanding of language revitalization and build her skills to advocate for transformative changes in public education.
What has informed your approach to leading change in your community?
My personal experiences when I was younger of feeling disconnected from my culture and family. I think about how education can help kids embrace who they are and chase after what they want. Not seeing my parents for the wise and important people that they are, I also think about how we can do a better job teaching our kids. How do we tell them that their identities are valuable? It’s taken a lot of internal work to realize the impact of schooling, and to turn it on its head and embrace it differently.
What drives you?
I’m driven by the kids I teach and their families. Seeing the real impact of language loss, like when a child is not able to talk to their grandparents because they don’t know the language. Not being able to share in that closeness because of a language barrier is so heartbreaking. When my mom has an incredible story to tell, and my nieces and nephews can’t understand what she’s trying to convey, it feels shameful. The loss of relationships is something I see with families all the time.
What is your favorite quote or expression?
Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
