Patience is wearing thin amid a battle for control of a museum honoring San Jose’s Vietnamese community — and both sides of the fight could end up losing.
History San Jose, a nonprofit which cares for History Park and its historic buildings and resources on Phelan Avenue, has kept the Viet Museum closed since last December. The reason: Two factions of community members have been fighting for control of the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center, the nonprofit that operates the museum. Now History San Jose could ice both sides out of the museum — and find another organization to oversee it — if they don’t come to a resolution in less than 20 days.
The consequences would be deeper than a change of hands. The Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center is seen as an extension of its highly-protective late architect, Loc Vu, a war veteran and refugee who also founded the nonprofit. Before his death, Vu announced his retirement as president in January and proposed his son-in-law as his successor. The idea opened a major rift.
Several board members objected over nepotism concerns, prompting dueling accusations between them and Vu of wrongdoing and a fight over which board members were legitimate. Vu died Nov. 29 after months in hospice care.
History San Jose has set a deadline of Dec. 31 before ending the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center’s contract entirely.
In a Thursday letter, District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan’s office asked History San Jose to hold off on the decision and grant a six-month extension in light of Vu’s passing.
“Given this moment of transition and loss, the community needs time to grieve and to thoughtfully consider the museum’s leadership future. Councilmember Doan intends to personally engage in these leadership discussions and help mediate a resolution,” Jonathan Fleming, Doan’s chief of staff, wrote.
Quinn Tran — who was recognized on Vu’s side as the cultural center’s new executive director — interprets an end to the contract as an end to the museum itself.
“This decision would effectively evict the museum — our community’s center of history, heritage and culture — from the Historic Park and force it into precarious uncertainty,” Tran told San José Spotlight. “My sincere hope is that this matter will be resolved by then.”
Bill Schroh, History San Jose’s president and CEO, said his organization would never kick the museum out of the park.
“There will always be a Viet Museum at History Park in San Jose,” Schroh told San José Spotlight. “We just need to have an official governing organization in charge of it. Both sides of the dispute claim to be the official one, yet neither has the official proof.”
Schroh said if the deadline passes without resolution, History San Jose will seek out a different governing group.
“This is a family dispute,” Tran said. “History San Jose has no right to decide on the fate of the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center.”
Under Tran, the organization filed a lawsuit in August against five people Vu claimed to be illegitimate board members, but still sought control over the organization. Yet there may now be signs of unity under the threat of the December deadline.
Members of the dueling factions came together at the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday to speak on Vu’s passing. Among them was Vu’s son-in-law, Minh Le, who described the refugee community as one large family that may often get into spats, but comes together in times of need.
“Families may have disagreements, but they reconcile,” he said at the podium, with dueling board members standing together behind him.
Vu developed the Viet Museum over the course of three decades and opened it in 2007. The old farmhouse in History Park stores hundreds of photographs, documents and art about the experiences of the Boat People. Vu kept it alive with his own savings. He even mortgaged his family home.
By founding the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center, Vu is credited with helping resettle more than 20,000 South Asian immigrants in Northern California after the Vietnam War. San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population for a city outside Vietnam.
Community organizer MyLinh Pham is another board member caught in the dispute because the lawsuit deemed her illegitimate.
“We believe the future of the Viet Museum should not be jeopardized by internal conflicts, especially while legal and procedural reviews are still underway,” Pham told San José Spotlight. “Our priority is to safeguard this historic cultural institution, and we remain committed to working toward a resolution that upholds the community’s trust and the integrity of the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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