Vietnamese Group Plans ‘Rock the Vote’ Concert

Taking a cue from voter education campaigns that mix pop star glamour with political awareness, a coalition of Vietnamese American groups is sponsoring a Rock the Vote concert targeting the nation’s largest Vietnamese emigre community.

It is the biggest effort ever undertaken to register new Vietnamese American voters and the first major event to come out of the political movement sparked by the huge anti-communist rallies in Little Saigon this year.

“There’s a collective awareness now. Everyone senses the dynamic that this is the time for our voices to be heard,” said attorney Van Thai Tran, project chairman and a member of the Vietnamese American Voters Coalition.

The daylong concert, set for Oct. 17, will star some of the hottest acts in the Vietnamese pop world and takes its name from MTV’s voter awareness campaign.

Orange County is home to the largest community of Vietnamese immigrants in the country--an estimated 200,000. About half of them are citizens, yet only 35,000 are registered to vote, said Nhi Ho, one of the coordinators of the project.

Organizers already have approval to use the name and logo of the nonprofit Rock the Vote, which is based in Culver City. They still must decide, though, whether to use the Anaheim Convention Center or the Santa Ana Stadium.

Eighty acts, including pop singers Y Lan and Linda Trang Dai, have agreed to appear, said Radio Bolsa disc jockey Viet Dzung, and organizers are hoping to get 150 performers.

Public service announcements will air this weekend, and the coalition plans to kick off its registration drive the following weekend throughout the Little Saigon area.

“We wanted to get a head start on the year 2000. Next year will be very busy with elections, and we wanted to be ready,” Dzung said. “We also wanted this concert to reunite all the factions that came together during the protests.”

Political consciousness reached a peak during the protests in Little Saigon over the display of Communist icons in a video rental store, say community observers.

The campaign will focus on educating Vietnamese Americans about the power of their vote. The drive will be closely watched by Vietnamese American communities around the United States, Ho said.

“If we are successful, this project will be a model for others. We’re the largest [Vietnamese] community. If we can’t do it, how can they?” he said.