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Vietnamese American Teens Resisted Racial Profiling at Cafe Chu Lun

A commercial street corner at a major intersection. Cars wait at the light. The commercial plaza has a sign that reads, "Diamond Plaza."
Before it went out of business, Cafe Chu Lun was located in what is now Diamond Plaza at the corner of a major street, Euclid, and a smaller street that today bears the name of Emperor Quang Trung, one of Vietnam’s major military figures. | Thuy Vo Dang
By Elaine Lewinnek, Thuy Vo Dang, Gustavo Arellano
June 7, 2022
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"A People’s Guide to Orange County" is an alternative tour guide that documents sites of oppression, resistance, struggle and transformation in Orange County, California. The following series of stories explores moments of resistance and social activism despite Orange County's reputation for its conservatism.

In 1993, a group of teenage girls were waiting at a payphone outside Cafe Chu Lun coffee shop when the Garden Grove police stopped, questioned and photographed Annie Lee, Minhtran Tran and Quyen Pham. California was the first state to create a computer database of photos, what became known as the CalGang database. In Orange County, the community referred to these as "Asian Mug Books," which criminalized youth who appeared to look like gang members to the police. Police were supposed to have "reasonable suspicion" to add someone's photo to the gang database, but, in the case of these three girls and many others, the suspicious behavior was only that they were Asian and wore baggy clothes.

Pham recalled that, when she told the policeman he had no right to go through her purse and personal address book, he scoffed, "If you have a problem with this, then don't come to my city." Pham replied, "This isn't your city. This is America." With the help of the ACLU, Pham and Tran sued, winning a settlement of $85,000, a letter of apology and a change in policy. Although police racial profiling continues, the successful fight against "Asian Mug Books" helped launch organizations such as the countywide AWARE — Alliance Working for Asian Rights and Empowerment — and spurred more Vietnamese to run for political office.

Explore some of the spaces in Orange County shaped by conservatism and activism. Click on the starred map points to read more in-depth stories.

Today, the address of the former Cafe Chu Lun has been replaced by Diamond Plaza, the site of primarily Vietnamese-operated businesses. The smaller side street adjacent to where the girls gathered at the payphone has now been named after Vietnam's Emperor Quang Trung. In 2017, a statue across the street from the plaza was dedicated to this national leader who resisted the foreign occupation of Vietnam in the 1700s. This legacy of resistance lives on in the Orange County Vietnamese American community.

Explore all the stories from "A People's Guide to Orange County."

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