Confronting your past can be difficult, sharing those stories can be even harder. Nevertheless, Kim Chinh navigates her personal and generational trauma in her one-woman performance “Reclaiming Vietnam.”

“Reclaiming Vietnam” was presented to an audience of students, faculty, staff and community members on March 9 in the Parkhouse Hall Atrium at Montgomery County Community College’s Central Campus in Blue Bell as part of the ongoing Richard K. Bennett Distinguished Lectureship for Peace and Social Justice Series.

In the piece, Chinh tells parallel stories of her time volunteering in Vietnam and her confrontations with the cousins who assaulted her. As she learns more about her heritage in Vietnam, she reclaims her own story from the family members who stole her innocence.

Chinh spoke about creating the piece and the impact on audiences with English Professor Marc Schuster on MCCC on the Air, the College’s podcast, on March 10.

“I hope that audiences have an understanding that being open about the past is important,” she said. “There’s a lot of shame and taboo in things that we shouldn’t talk about. I wanted to give audiences a platform to say ‘I can talk about these things, no matter how hard it is for other people to hear.’”

Chinh got a chance to elevate those stories in “Reclaiming You,” a panel discussion with MCCC students and faculty on March 10. Chinh moderated the panel, which included Sergio Bake, a student who emigrated from Guatemala; Emilee Edgard, a student who emigrated from Haiti; and Khuong Nguyen, a first-generation student whose parents are from Vietnam.

Bake, Edgard and Nguyen each told stories about not fitting in and hiding their cultures. Bake felt social pressure in Guatemala to drink alcohol, Edgard was isolated because of the language barrier, and Nguyen was mocked for eating cultural foods. In the process of sharing their stories, the student panel inspired students in the audience to participate. Students expressed their struggles with sexuality and gender roles and discrimination based on accents and hairstyles. Despite these challenges, each student is now in a place where they can be proud of their heritage and share it with the community they have found at MCCC.

The Richard K. Bennett Distinguished Lectureship for Peace and Social Justice Series was established at the College in 1981. The lectureship reflects the ideals of Richard Bennett, a Quaker who devoted his life work to accomplishing peace and justice through non-violent efforts.

MCCC on the Air is the College’s podcast. Each week, host Dr. Marc Schuster, Professor of English, interviews people from the College or local community about issues, events and activities.