A Legacy of Service: Remembering Community Leader Tuyet Le

Tuyết Anh Mong Lê, the unwavering Vietnamese American civil rights leader who redefined Asian American advocacy and championed immigrant and disability rights, has passed away. Born into a family of resilience on January 21, 1972, she spent her life uplifting others, building movements, and fostering change with kindness at its core. On February 8, 2025, just weeks after her 53rd birthday, Tuyết took her last breath surrounded by family and close friends, after a courageous battle with late-stage lung cancer.

The daughter of Kế Văn Lê and Liên Thị Mộng Nguyễn, Tuyết arrived into the world on a scorching day in Saigon, her father naming her Tuyết—Vietnamese for snow. Maybe he saw something no one else could. Just three years later, as Saigon fell to North Vietnam, the Lê family was forced to flee. Their perilous journey as refugees brought them to Milwaukee, where they rebuilt their lives from scratch. Her father worked double shifts as a machinist; her mother cleaned hotel rooms. Tuyết, the youngest, was given a different task. She had survived polio as a baby, which led to scoliosis. She didn’t walk until she was three. From age five to almost ten, she wore a bulky body brace for twenty hours a day. She couldn’t help in the ways her siblings did, but her grandmother reassured her: “Your job is to study.” And she did.

She excelled at Nicolet High School, where she first drew inspiration from the life of Harriet Tubman. She then patched together scholarships and grants to attend Northwestern University, where she majored in Fine Arts. But activism soon called to her. At home, her parents never spoke of their past. At school, Vietnam was a war, not a place. At Northwestern, she fought for the creation of Asian American Studies, organizing classes and pushing the university to acknowledge the history of her people.

A short decade later, Tuyết had become the Executive Director of the Asian American Institute, now known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago. Under her leadership, the organization became a powerful force for racial equity and immigrant justice. She graded politicians on Asian American inclusion and once gave both the Governor and Cook County Board President a failing grade—pushing them into action. When Chicago’s Mayor Daley tried to remove Asian American contractors from affirmative action programs, she rallied the community to fight back—and won. She built the first-ever Asian American Caucus of State Legislators, proving that Asian Americans had a rightful place in democracy.

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Yet, for all her achievements, it was her way of doing things that set her apart. In a world where politics could be cutthroat, Tuyết led with kindness. That was why hundreds would show up every year to hear her keynote speeches at Advancing Justice | Chicago’s annual gala. It became the de facto “State of the Asian American Community” address. In one of these speeches, she told a story her parents never did—the story of how her family escaped Saigon.

The Lê family’s boat was stranded at sea for days, on the brink of collapse. A Taiwanese ship finally pulled alongside, but it had orders to rescue only those of Chinese descent. Among the hundreds on the boat, there were only two—a father and a daughter. Tuyết recounted:

“The Taiwanese offered them passage onto their boat. But the family refused to go unless we could all go with them. The daughter explained that we had been kind enough to take them with us. She said that in return, she would rather stay with us, facing uncertainty, than abandon us. The Taiwanese relented and allowed all the women and children onto their ship. The men followed behind in the fishing boat. They led us to the Philippines, where we were processed as refugees, and within less than two days, we were on our way to the United States.”

To the Asian American, immigrant rights, disability rights, and civil rights communities, Tuyết was a gentle, generous, and mighty leader whose kindness was matched only by her integrity. To her family and friends, she was so much more. An artist. A printmaker. A knitter and crocheter of warm things. A biting satirist (she founded a secret event called Lunar Lunacy, a Lunar New Year satire of Asian American politics). A pho-club founder. An original member of the British Humor Society. A binge-watcher of cozy mysteries. A jigsaw puzzle fanatic. A friend to birds and plants. Her songbird laughter will echo in our memories forever.

Tuyết will be deeply missed by her siblings Vân Anh M. Lê, Thu Anh Lê-Schlecht, Huy Q. Lê, and Tấn H. Lê; her many cousins, nieces, and nephews; and her extended family, including Saket Soni, Esther Hurh, Tony Streit, Gary Hsin, Elaine Kuo, Clarita Santos, Steve Merritt, Joanna Su, Elvin Chan, Dayo Gore, Mehrdad Azemun, and Jee Yeun Lee. She was given a green cremation, as she wished. As her ashes were laid to rest, fresh snow fell softly over Chicago, commemorating her name.

If you would like to honor Tuyết’s memory, donations may be made to the Chicago Botanic Gardens in her name (chicagobotanic.org/donate: select “Tribute Gifts”). She was also a passionate supporter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, Access Living, the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Rockwood Leadership Institute, and WTTW.

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Condolence letters may be sent to:
The Family of Tuyết Lê c/o Inclusive Funeral Care 4880 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640

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Arrangements by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-370-2959 or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.