After the fall of Saigon to Communist forces on April 30, 1975, an event now known as Tháng Tư Đen or Black April, more than 2 million Vietnamese people fled the country by sea in search of safety and freedom.
Known as the “boat people,” many made the perilous journey in overcrowded, unsafe vessels. While some were rescued, hundreds of thousands died at sea or were killed by pirates during the mass exodus that continued into the 1990s.
Of those who survived, many resettled in San Jose, now home to the largest Vietnamese population in a single city outside Vietnam. There are smaller communities in the Bay Area, beyond Santa Clara County.
Here is a look at the Vietnamese population in the Bay Area:
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