Sunisa Lee didn’t owe the U.S. gold. Her victory is a gift, especially to her Hmong community.

In the Hmong culture, we have a saying, “Hmoob yuav tsum hlub Hmoob. Leej twg yuav hlub Hmoob?” The first sentence translates to, “Hmong have to love Hmong.” The second part asks, “Who else will love Hmong?” As members of a displaced ethnic group from Southeast Asia, love for our people is all we have when there is no place to call our own. Sunisa Lee’s Olympic gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition is a win for the country, for Asian Americans and, most of all, for her fellow members of the Hmong diaspora.