Heroes from Houston's restaurant industry step up during Hurricane Harvey. Guest Post by Thomas Nguyen.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017, and is likely to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rainfall in Houston, Texas, causing catastrophic flooding and damage to over 200,000 homes and businesses.
With over 12,000 restaurants that include everything from Ethiopian, Pakistani, barbeque, Viet-Cajun, Tex-Mex, to South African, Houston has unofficially become
the most diverse city in America. But what makes Houston unique isn't just the diversity of cultures and people, it is seeing everyone come together in times of tragedy, catastrophe and chaos. Among the overwhelming number of inspirational and heroic stories during Harvey these past few weeks were chefs, owners and volunteers from Houston's burgeoning restaurant industry.
A handful of these stories involving Asian Americans stood out to me. Not because they were more significant than any others, but because they demonstrated traits that went against typical Asian American stereotypes. These individuals were not weak, silent or passive. They were leaders, they were compassionate, and they wholeheartedly contributed to those who needed help.
