Minnesotans remember Twin Cities artist and activist Tou Ger Xiong
Updated: 4:20 p.m
Colombian authorities on Wednesday were investigating the alleged kidnapping and killing of a Hmong American comedian and activist who was found dead Monday in a wooded area of the northern city Medellín.
Prosecutors told reporters that Tou Ger Xiong, 50, arrived in Medellín on Nov. 29. He went to meet a friend in the city on Dec. 10. Hours later he called a friend in the United States to tell him that he was kidnapped and his captors demanded a $2,000 ransom to free him, according to prosecutors.
Yiri Amado Sánchez, sectional director of Medellín prosecutor’s office, indicated that another friend of the activist reported the kidnapping for ransom — a common occurrence in the city. The office did not identify the friend by name.
“The man was the victim of a kidnapping," Sánchez said, adding that the alleged kidnappers didn't collect the money.
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Xiong, who lived in Woodbury, was a comedian, entertainer, storyteller and social justice activist. He talked about his Hmong heritage and immigrant experience to forge connections with audiences across the country. His family said in a statement issued by his brother, Eh Xiong, that “the pain of his loss is indescribable.”
The family said Tou Ger Xiong, one of 11 siblings, “dedicated his life to building bridges across cultures, to giving voice for those who may not have one, and to working toward justice for all.”
Eh Xiong told local TV stations that his brother frequently traveled to Colombia. He said he last heard from his brother Sunday night when he asked him to send $2,000. He told KARE-TV that his brother said he was “in a bit of a situation here” but didn’t give details.
The brother said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was busy working to bring his brother’s body back to Minnesota.
The State Department press office said in an email to the AP that it was providing “all appropriate assistance” to the family but declined to provide further details out of respect to the family.
Xiong grew up in St. Paul after fleeing Laos with his family and spending four years in a Thailand refugee camp as a child.
“When I was younger, I had a hard time fitting in just because I phenotypically on the outside, I did not look like the rest of the kids in my classroom. My skin color is different, my hair color’s different, my nose and my eyes are shaped differently,” Xiong said in an 1996 interview on MPR News. “And so there was an inferiority complex where I thought maybe I'm not as good as the white kids.”
In the interview, he said a club he started in high school to host events and promote Hmong culture and relate their history, was “a self-esteem boost.”
Xiong graduated as valedictorian of his Humboldt High School class. He became a multifaceted community activist, motivational speaker, storyteller, comedian and rap artist.
“He had this magnetic, you know, aura about him. And so people young and old, were just really wanting to be in his presence, because he was so good at inviting everybody in,” Bo Thao-Urabe said Wednesday.
Thao-Urabe met Xiong when they were both 16 and soon became close, lifelong friends and colleagues. She’s now on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and the MPR Board of Trustees.
The pair worked together in civic engagement, nonprofit Hmong National Development and were part of the same class of Bush Fellows in 2019. Xiong emceed Thao-Urabe’s wedding.
When asked about the words that come to mind when describing Xiong, Thao-Urabe recalled him as “caring, smart, funny, motivational, inspiring” and “just bigger than life.”
Xiong believed in his community and the importance of having difficult conversations about COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd, politics, racism and more, according to Thao-Urabe.
“He really felt that it was important for the community to be talking about all of those things and to create space to deal with the, you know, tremendous losses in the community, but to also really think about how everybody could contribute to building our future,” she said. “He has touched the community, the world over … just helping people to really be proud of who they are. And to understand the dynamics of identity and the context in which they lived, and how to build from that.”
Sia Her, executive director of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, said he wasn't afraid to confront difficult issues.
"In a patriarchal community like this one, it takes a special someone who could and would be willing to take a stand on this position in every way possible,” Her said.
"I think in the last couple of days we've really felt across the Hmong American diaspora and across all of our many communities that keen understanding of what we what we've just lost."
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter says he first met Xiong in the city’s arts scene about 20 years ago.
“He’d show up and sort of grab the microphone and help people have a good time,” Carter said, adding Xiong was “almost always on duty to make sure people were enjoying themselves.”
The mayor says Xiong's ability to lighten the mood made him the perfect person to bring people together to take on challenging issues.
“There’s such a discord between somebody who spent his entire life like spreading joy. Then had his own life taken in that way. It’s just it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Thao-Urabe also reflected on Xiong’s ability to bring a cross-generational crowd together with singing during his performances, getting even the reluctant to join in.
“He’s been a tremendous friend, and I will miss him dearly.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.