Unite & Commemorate: 35th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

April 30th, 1975. The day that the Vietnam War ended, the day that Saigon fell under Communist rule, and the darkest day in the history of Vietnam.

Our goal is to compile a thorough list of Black April 2010 events that our brothers and sisters are involved with around the world.

What is Black April

Posted: April 7th, 2010 | Author: admin | Filed under: Featured | No Comments »

Black April is observed on April 30th and is the English term used by most Vietnamese overseas to refer to the Fall of Saigon which occurred on April 30th, 1975. This marks the end of the South Vietnamese government bringing all of Viet Nam under the North Vietnamese communist regime. As a result of this, Saigon, which was the capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the late leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Furthermore, many people fled the country for various reasons leading to the large Vietnamese Diaspora that exists abroad today.

In Vietnamese, it is referred to as “Ngày Ba Mươi Tháng Tư” (The 30th of April) or “Ngày Quốc Hận,” roughly translated as “day of national resentment.” In Viet Nam, it is referred to as “Ngày Giải Phóng” and translated as “Victory Day.” For those who didn’t make the connection, it is considered a victory by the North Vietnamese government that defeated the South Viet Nam.

The North Vietnamese tanks crushed through the gate of the South Vietnam Presidential Palace at roughly 12pm. Also around this time, President Duong Van Minh (last president of South Vietnam) went onto Saigon Radio Station and announced South Vietnam’s unconditional surrender, marking the end of the war and the collapse of the government.

Also, on April 30th, 1975, the Republic of Viet Nam officially ended but South Vietnam continued to be governed by the National Liberation Front (an arm of the Communist government of North Viet Nam). Viet Nam did not officially reunify until 1976, at which time it became officially known as the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Saigon did not become Ho Chi Minh City until 1976. Interestingly, Ho Chi Minh City is the only city in Viet Nam that is named after a person. Vietnamese society does not have a tradition of naming cities after a person’s name, this renaming of Saigon to HCM City is rather a practice of communist states (i.e. Leningrad in Russia).

Today, many youth not only commemorate the Fall of Saigon, but also the achievements of Vietnamese-Americans concurrently to highlight the positives of the situation. While remembering the past, we are able to focus on the present and future as well.