Sokhary Chau became the first Cambodian American mayor in the U.S.

 

 

 

Sokhary Chau became the first Cambodian American mayor in the U.S. on Monday, after being selected by the rest of the council to serve as mayor of Lowell, Mass. - home to the country’s second-largest Cambodian American community. 

 

Chau lived the first few years of his life in Cambodia under the reign of terror by Khmer Rouge, which engaged in widespread genocide and executed Chau’s father in 1975. His mother, who passed away in Nov. 2021, was able to bring them to the U.S. - where he said his family initially lived in refugee camps. 

 

After being sworn in, the 49-year-old said “God bless America, right? I was a refugee, now I’m mayor of a major city in Massachusetts. I don’t know if that could happen anywhere else in the world. I’m still trying to absorb it. As a proud Cambodian American, I am standing on the shoulders of many immigrants who came before me to build this city."

 

 

Photos: Peg Shanahan via AP