July 1, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 121 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S4130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        REMEMBERING MARNY XIONG

 Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the life 
of Marny Xiong, who served as chair of the St. Paul school board and 
was a beloved member of the community taken from us too soon on June 7, 
2020. As one person put it, Marny wasn't just well-liked, she was well-
loved.
  Those who knew Marny best described her as someone with a joyful 
spirit who was great at making other people laugh. Mayor Melvin Carter 
of St. Paul may have said it best when he noted that she ``embodied our 
city's spirit, gave her heart to our students, and worked tirelessly to 
uplift the voices of the unheard.''
  The daughter of Hmong refugees whose parents fled Laos to a refugee 
camp in Thailand before arriving in Minnesota, Marny and her eight 
siblings grew up in St. Paul and attended St. Paul public schools, Her 
father earned a high school diploma as an adult, opening career 
opportunities for him and showing Marny firsthand the value of 
education and hard work.
  Marny Xiong represented the best of us, driven by a simple mission to 
do good and to give back. As the chair of the St. Paul School Board, 
she demanded equity for her students--and fought for justice for all 
people across our State. During the Covid-19 pandemic that sadly took 
her life, she took on the fight against hate crimes against Asian 
Americans and hateful rhetoric about the virus. She stood up against 
these acts of hate that threatened the lives and dignity of so many in 
Minnesota.
  Marny led St. Paul's school board and Asian American elected 
officials in condemning xenophobia and denouncing racism, saying: 
``While they brew hate, we're building a powerful movement for 
change.'' Marny understood that there are more students to help, more 
teachers to respect, more communities to support, and more justice to 
deliver. Marny wasn't afraid or intimidated to take on these 
challenges. She was resolute and determined to enlighten those who 
engage in the politics of fear and division. That is Marny's legacy and 
what we have inherited from her.
  Marny Xiong is a role model and an inspiration and will be sorely 
missed, but as we mourn her loss today, tomorrow we can honor Marny's 
legacy by building on the movement to which she committed her life, a 
movement to see a better, more just, vision of our communities and our 
country, Marny's movement.
  Thank you.

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