HMONG CULTURAL CENTER 2024 ANNUAL REPORT
Cultural Arts Education, Multicultural Education, Adult Basic Education
It is the mission of the Hmong Cultural Center to promote the personal development of children, youth, and adults through education while providing resources that enhance cross-cultural awareness and understanding.
MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TXONGPAO LEE
Dear Community:
2024 was another good year for Hmong Cultural Center! Our Adult Basic Education programs (ESL and Citizenship) continued to expand after the multi-year disruption of the pandemic. We were pleased to serve many Hmong newcomers from Vietnam, Laos and Thailand in these programs along with immigrants and refugees from many other communities.
Our storefront museum again reached a new all-time high with more than 2,000 visitors. This included more than 60 schools, churches and other youth groups visiting for tours. These visitors came not only from Minnesota but also several communities in Wisconsin and even further afield.
Our annual Qeej and Hmong Arts Festival, unique in the United States, also continued to grow to its biggest event yet held in 2024 at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul.
In 2025, we continue to improve our space on University Avenue to better serve the community. We would like to thank you all of you for your ongoing support of Hmong Cultural Center!
Txongpao Lee, Executive Director
2024 Hmong Cultural Center Program Accomplishments
Adult Basic Education Program (Citizenship, ESL and Occupational English Classes for Adults)
218 adult immigrant and refugee students served with 18,993 hours of instruction
Qeej Musical Instrument Program
46 students served with instruction in the Hmong Qeej instrument and Qeej songs played in the tradi-tional Hmong funeral ceremony
Wedding and Funeral Songs Program
30 students served with instruction in traditional Hmong Wedding and Funeral Songs
Museum and Library Visitors
From January 1 to December 31, 2024: Physical Visitors 2,026 Total Physical Visitors toured the Museum or used the Library
Hmong 101 Program
Sample of Groups Served with educational information about Hmong culture and history:
Minnesota Medical Association
Literacy Minnesota
Community Enrichment City of Delano, MN
First Congregational Church, Eau Claire, WI
Hmong Cultural Center Programs
Adult Basic Education Program – The Adult Basic Education Programs at Hmong Cultural Center include English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes, Occupational English Classes, Job Counseling Services and Citizenship Classes. Hmong Cultural Center is a member of the Saint Paul Community Literacy Consortium. Citizenship and some ESL Classes are available online.
Hmong Wedding and Funeral Songs Program – This 33 year old program at Hmong Cultural Cen-ter teaches adults and youth traditional orally recited songs and procedures associated with MeejKoob (the traditional Hmong Marriage Ceremony) and Kev PamTuag (Funeral Ceremony) in order to help ensure the survival of Hmong culture and traditions.
Qeej Musical Instrument Program – The popular afterschool Qeej classes at Hmong Cultural Center teach students in the art of the Qeej – a traditional instrument widely known as a cultural symbol of Hmong identity. Lessons include playing and dancing with the Qeej instrument.
Hmong Resource Center Library – The collections of the Hmong Resource Center library include more than 800 Hmong-related books, 760 Hmong-related theses and dissertations, more than 1000 Hmong-related academic journal articles and over 3,500 Hmong-related newspaper articles. The li-brary likely has the largest collection of Hmong-related theses and dissertations and journal articles of any institution in the United States. The library also hosts a growing virtual library collection on the internet (www.hmonglibrary.org)
Museum – The Hmong Cultural Center Storefront Museum provides a growing selection of interactive exhibits and interpretive materials that teach visitors about Hmong culture and history with an empha-sis on the experiences of Hmong Minnesotans and the rich Hmong folk arts tradition. Exhibits include 35 museum-quality display panels, 6 interactive stations and numerous display cases of Hmong cultur-al objects along with an online exhibit (www.hmonghistorycenter.org)
Hmong 101 Program – To respond to the need for community education about the Hmong experi-ence, Hmong history and culture and Hmong American contributions to the U.S., the Hmong Cultural Center provides comprehensive and interactive and online presentations about the Hmong to groups in Minnesota, the Upper Midwest and the entire U.S. (www.hmong101.com).
