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Duong Nghe Ly does not deem himself a role model, but if he continues to effect change, he may have to alter his perspective.
The 19-year-old Vietnamese student at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St., claimed the Princeton Prize in Race Relations for helping his school to minimize its recent history of racial intolerance. One of two Philadelphia region winners, the resident of the 2200 block of South Beechwood Street has overcome his former fear of confronting authority to strengthen his school’s overall community.
His young life has presented the senior, numerous character-enhancing moments, with the most documented one being the December 2009 school-related attacks against 30 Asian students. Though not a physical victim of the two-day assaults, he incurred emotional wounds that compelled him not to remain silent against oppression.
“Growing up, I learned not to disrupt authority, but I knew I had to fight against the tension and help to change my school,” he said Tuesday.
He used his awareness of racial tension across the city to establish the Asian Student Association of Philadelphia (ASAP) in September.
“We want to empower students to find solutions not just to anti-Asian feelings but to anti-immigrant ones, too,” he said.
His association includes students from four other high schools, including Horace Furness, 1900 S. Third St.
“Nobody has absolute power,” he said of ASAP’s lack of a president.
The conglomerate instead uses the terms secretaries, public relations representatives, historians and treasurer for its personnel. Ly serves as a co-secretary, but everyone’s role changes periodically.
“We could not use a single incident to define ourselves,” he said of not deciding to make the unpleasantness from 17 months ago limit its mission to just one school.
His inclusive nature caused him to reach out to the Philadelphia Student Union, Asian Americans United and Boat People SOS, 600 Washington Ave., to establish a cross-cultural force where acceptance of differences blossoms.
“The Philadelphia Student Union organizes the English-speaking students, and the others unite the Asian ones,” he said.
The groups meet separately every week and together once a month to discuss ideas for furthering unity courtesy of diversity. The schools’ members also gather each week to iron out any issues. Their endeavors have resulted in conference participation in The District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Texas. His advocacy caused Nancy Nguyen, head of Boat People’s Philadelphia chapter, to nominate Ly for a prize that began in ’03 and that Southern alumnus Wei Chen won last year. By Jan. 31, he had to explain why he helped to found ASAP and what he feels it has accomplished.
“Ly’s leadership in conciliatory efforts and empowerment training has improved the day-to-day lives of students in the aftermath of a very difficult situation from the previous years and laid a strong foundation for those who follow,” Philadelphia Prize Committee co-chair Dora Lee said on his selection.
He received his award and its accompanying $1,000 prize April 27 in a ceremony at St. Joseph’s University. His mother, friends, mentors and Southern’s first-year principal Otis D. Hackney III joined him.
“I consider it more of a group award. It is definitely not only my own work that the committee recognized,” he said.
The honor marks his second big recognition, as Philadelphia Magazine last year named him and other Asian students among its Heroes of the Year for protesting before the School Reform Commission.
“I’m no hero either,” he said, preferring to bestow that term and role model upon his mentors, community organizers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi. “I believe in achieving a common goal, and in my case, that is the appreciation of difference.”
Ly was born in a Thailand refugee camp two years after his parents left Vietnam. The U.N. cut funding for the space in 1996, forcing the clan back to Vietnam. Ly lived in Ho Chi Minh City, where he strengthened his English. After 12 years, his parents received a visa, and, thanks to an uncle’s goading, they settled in Philadelphia in March 2008.
His mother’s friend recommended Southern, and Ly, who in two years will be a U.S. citizen, enrolled. His time at the school has featured what he terms “ups and downs,” but this year has proven to be a great reminders of the power of giving voice to one’s dreams.
“We are continuing to talk with other schools about joining us,” he said, reflecting the Princeton Prize committee’s aim of having recipients craft projects that forge “a significant, positive effect on race relations in their schools or communities.”
Bok Technical High School, 1901 S. Ninth St., will be the next beneficiary of his outreach.
Ly will graduate June 14 at the University of Pennsylvania. Come late summer, he will return to the Ivy League school to begin his college experience. Undecided on a major, he has considered sociology courtesy of his time with ASAP. No matter what, Ly will continue to promote his message.
“Don’t be afraid to seek help if you experience judgement,” he said. “Only when people work together can change occur.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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