Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Street Dedication To Uptown Hip-Hop Artist Today

From Ald. Osterman:
"This week I will join the family and friends of John "Vietnam" Nguyen to dedicate Winthrop from Argyle to Winona in his honor. Signs will be installed to commemorate John and the ceremony will be held March 19 at 3:00pm at Winthrop and Winona.
John Nguyen's profile photo
from his Facebook page
John Vietnam Nguyen was born in Chicago on March 13, 1993. He attended McCutcheon and Goudy Elementary and Lane Tech High School. He received a First Wave (hip-hop) scholarship to the University of Wisconsin in Madison which he was currently attending when he tragically drowned saving the life of a friend in Lake Mendota on August 30, 2012. He was 19 years of age.  
He was majoring in Marketing, but his passion was hip-hop. He defined it as expression, therapy and resistance rooted in the hip-hop culture and his focus was to raise cultural awareness and to address social issues to provoke thought. He volunteered and worked in various local community organizations such as Kuumba Lynx, Multi Cultural Youth Project (MCYP), Connect Force, Alternatives, and Chinese Mutual Aid Association, which nurtured his passion for the synergy between arts, academics and activism.  
John is an example of a youth who impacted our community and those around him. We are honored to celebrate him and his life."
Mary Schmich in the Tribune has an article about John's family and legacy.

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