A plan to name a new elementary school after a Hmong military leader is winning praise from Hmong but criticism by some who question his past, particularly his ties with the CIA.
The Hmong community says it’s the first time their most prominent leader, General Vang Pao, has been honored with a public school in his name.
“It is a historic moment for the Hmong people,” said Madison school board member Shwaw Vang, a Hmong who persuaded the board to unanimously approve the name last week. An Asian ethnic group, the Hmong in the U.S. came mainly from Laos as refugees after the Vietnam war.