The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a new surge in violence against Asian communities across the world. Several high-profile instances of anti-Asian racist violence—spurred on by casually racist remarks at every level of government, business, and popular culture—have created a terrorizing climate for many. In San Francisco Chinatown for example, overt xenophobia, combined with the economic impact of shelter-in-place orders, has left immigrants, elders, limited English-speaking people, and poor folks feeling like targets. In San Francisco, where a staggeringly disproportionate 50% of the COVID-19 mortalities are from the Asian and Pacific Islander community, the pandemic has ushered in multiple violences. This has been further exacerbated by pre-existing crises: gentrification, displacement, homelessness, police terror, inequities in education, a drastic uptick in deportations, antagonism against trans and queer people, poverty, and exploitation.
We must recognize that the scapegoating of Asians as the harbingers of disease and the state violence against Black people (via systemic policing and state response to the pandemic) are two sides of the same coin. This system of oppression is what indicates whether we live or die. This moment makes it even clearer that we must radicalize our communities for cross-racial solidarity.
Asians and Anti-Blackness in the US
Asians in the US are not a monolith. Some of us are first-generation immigrants who came here to work under selective immigration policies that privileged our education and technical skills. Some of us are here through involuntary migrations—fleeing economic and military wars waged in our homelands by the US and other imperial powers. Some of our Asian families have been in the US for generations. Some of us were adopted from Asian countries by non-Asian families. Some of us are mixed-race and of Black and Asian descent. We cannot ignore the varied experiences and distinctions between how our people got to this land, our familial and community histories in the US, and the way in which mainstream American perceptions and portrayals impact us differently. What we do have in common is that we’re incentivized by capitalism and racism, particularly anti-Blackness, to hold up the dual evils of white supremacy and American imperialism.
In order to fight back, we need to be more informed. That means understanding how we’ve been asked to buy into this system and to uphold ideas, policies, and practices that ultimately go against our interests. That also means being active and vocal supporters of Black liberation, and taking responsibility to end our anti-Blackness. We must acknowledge that anti-Blackness is at the core of all racism and that non-Black Asians have benefited—conditionally—from a system of anti-Blackness politically, economically, and socially. See our statement on recent police killings of Black people for more on this. It also means understanding how the history of racial capitalism has impacted all our communities and continues to impact us.
A Shared History of White Supremacy and Imperialism
Today the current administration is seeding a second Cold War with China to protect its financial interests globally and in the Asian Pacific. Stateside, we see results of this expressed as public figures repeatedly call COVID-19 a “Chinese virus” or a “Kung Flu,” directly resulting in vigilante attacks on people of Chinese descent, or people perceived to be of Chinese descent. In the summer, we’re seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases as states push for “re-opening,” in part so that the state doesn’t have to pay the brunt of unemployment benefits. This puts frontline workers (who are disproportionately from communities of color) at further risk—a decision not made off science but because of the drive for profit. In 2014-15, the Ebola outbreak also became a racialized pandemic, sparking widespread fear of African countries and a globalized anti-Blackness by Western countries.
We’ve seen this before: racist rhetoric, scapegoating, and, eventually, military tactics that target and intimidate communities of color to reinforce US capitalist priorities domestically and imperialism abroad. During World War II, fear of military threat by the Japanese government and fear of the economic influence of people of Japanese descent in the US led to the racist mass incarceration of Japanese Americans. Despite this despicable history, racist pundits have recently claimed the incarceration of Japanese Americans actually sets legal precedent for the targeting of other communities of color in the post 9-11 era. US government officials used Southwest Asian, North African, Muslim and South Asian communities as scapegoats during the “War on Terror” which put a huge target on their backs for vigilante violence, created massive surveillance and state-sanctioned harassment programs, and provided a cover for starting endless wars in the Gulf and West Asia for geopolitical dominance. During the rhetoric leading up to the various iterations of Trump’s travel bans we saw xenophobic language like “shithole countries” targeting both Muslim and African countries. We know that within the system of immigration surveillance and detention, Black immigrants are disproportionately targeted and deported.
We also know that the modern US police force was created in the antebellum period as patrols to hunt down people escaping slavery. Their present-day incarnation has been further solidified through continued targeting of Black communities as well as cracking down on unions and workers fighting for fairer wages and decent working conditions. Similarly, prisons are the contemporary progenies of slave plantations. These systems are undergirded by a dominant white supremacist narrative that insinuates Black people are inherently criminal and Black communities and families are irreparably broken. These narratives—built on more than 500 years of slavery, Indigenous genocide, and the theft of Native land—protect white owning-class privilege and power while resulting in death, disempowerment, and suffering, which disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous communities. These dominant systems, and the narratives that support them, have a firm grip on every aspect of contemporary US life. Understanding these critical connections is required political education for all—a more strategic resistance enables growth and strength across multiple communities of struggle. Without this, our communities are more vulnerable to counterproductive responses.
Moving Away from Counterproductive Responses
Unfortunately, in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence during COVID-19, we’ve seen vigilante groups form, bent on taking matters into their own hands. These responses reinforce the violent systems and narratives we want to dismantle. One such group that we’ve learned about in San Francisco Chinatown is composed of some ex-military. They have claimed they would perform citizens’ arrests, and have surveilled people they deem “suspicious,” and called the cops on them. Based on historic biases of the police and military, the folks targeted by this vigilante group have been Black, poor, unhoused, disabled, or a combination of the above. As we’ve seen for decades, police kill Black people at rates six times that of white people. This group has even co-opted language from the movement for Black lives in order to seem more sympathetic. Utilizing policing tactics like “patrols” and engaging in military-style surveillance and harassment of Black and poor people is an escalation and expansion of violence—not successful harm-prevention.
In this moment of the pandemic and uprisings, there is an opportunity to pivot to the future our communities want and need. Rather than attempting to solve the issues we’re facing by using tactics that replicate harm, we ask ourselves and each other: What new systems of support and care can we build and grow so that the world can be better? Asians cannot afford to hold on to the meager protections given to us by white supremacy; we can no longer be conscripted to fight the battles of white supremacy and American imperialism on its behalf while simultaneously being harmed by these systems. We need to recognize that our liberation is tied to our interdependence and solidarity.
Our Liberation is Intertwined
Hyejin Shim, queer Korean and prison abolitionist, poses an essential question: “What are the legacies we’ve inherited, which ones will we choose to protect?” In her piece questioning the limits of Asian American allyship, Hyejin reminds us that as Asian Americans, we have a rich, deep legacy of “Asian American prison abolitionists, anti-war activists, racial justice organizers, disability justice freedom fighters, queer/trans feminists & anti fascists, immigrant rights organizers, housing justice organizers, rape and domestic violence survivor advocates, labor organizers, artists and cultural workers, movement lawyers, and so many more, from both the past & present.” In all of these movements, Asian Americans have struggled alongside their Black siblings, with an understanding that our liberations are intertwined.
Again, Black and Asian solidarity in the face of systemic oppression is not new and we should continue to draw lessons from our vibrant shared history to inform our current and future work organizing for a more just society.
Early 1900s: Black US troops desert to join Pilipino independence fighters.
1969: Black, Asian, and Latinx students at San Francisco State University successfully lead a strike to create the first-ever Ethnic Studies program.
1970s: The Black Panther Party supports Pilipino residents of the International Hotel in their fight against eviction.
2006: After Hurricane Katrina, Black and Vietnamese communities in New Orleans protest the use of their community as a makeshift dump site.
2020: Black and Asian communities in New York lead a movement to Cancel Rent, focused on immigrant, undocumented, and homeless communities.
In addition to deepening our understanding of our shared histories, we should deepen our interpersonal relationships—our trust. We should continue to build out the mechanisms through which we tangibly support each other. As Stacey Park Milbern—a dearly beloved queer mixed race Korean comrade and disability justice movement leader who recently passed away—taught us: “We live and love interdependently. We know no person is an island, we need one another to live.”
This month, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets, decrying the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more. The people are mobilizing to uplift calls from Black organizers to defund the police while imagining and implementing alternatives to policing that actually promote community health and wellbeing. It’s a beautiful sight to behold and we must not forget that this incredible and rapid mass mobilization is a direct result of the tireless and intentional work of organizers who move in between these flashpoint moments: people who do the unsung work of cultivating and deepening interpersonal relationships over decades, holding difficult and educational conversations, supporting members through personal challenges, and creating venues for community to celebrate victories and accomplishments.
Deep, intentional relationship building is central to laying the foundations that make change possible; at the same time, it is not just a means to an end. Trust and interdependence are ends in themselves. As Asians 4 Black Lives, we aim to live out the world we are fighting for, and our deep comradeship and friendship is core to how and why we show up. For example, we have taken up the practice of beginning each of our regular meetings with personal check-ins: Do you have any needs that our community can help you with? Do you have any resources or bandwidth you can offer to community? We are often wrestling with the complexity of what it means to be people of Asian diaspora living in the United States and in joint struggle with our Black, Indigenous, and other comrades of color. This extends our questioning into deeper political territory: What, if any, is our role as US-based Asians in addressing anti-Blackness in Asian communities abroad? What does it mean to be called #Asians4BlackLives when that phrase is being used as a rallying cry for so many who express their solidarity in ways we may not be aligned with? Our work raises important questions that help us sharpen our analysis and build stronger ties with each other and the communities we are accountable to.
Whatever the world throws at us, be it interpersonal violence, a novel coronavirus, climate change, or vigilante racism, we know that communities are most resilient when basic needs are met. As others have noted, wealthy, predominantly white communities have much lower rates of policing and longer life expectancies than lower income communities of color. This isn’t because rich people or white people are less predisposed to do harm, or because they are physically or biologically predetermined to be healthier, but rather that these communities are allocated more resources and support structures. These communities are given more chances to address violence without being criminalized, but this often empowers people with privilege to continue causing harm without facing consequences. Instead of this model, we strive for a world where everyone’s needs are met and new systems help us address real issues of health and harm without relying on the carceral state.
As COVID-19 shifts social relations in unprecedented ways and oppressive forces leverage the pandemic to stir up fear and anti-Asian racism for their own benefit, we must resist the temptation to put up walls and isolate ourselves. It’s essential that we be resilient and creative in the ways we stay close. Let us continue to deepen our trust and ground ourselves in our rich legacies of solidarity. Let us leverage our collectivizing strength as we fight for a world that centers humanity, dignity, and the space to thrive.
ETA: A previous version of this post stated that two of the officers involved in George Floyd’s killing were of Asian descent. We have not yet been able to confirm the race of the second officer and so have updated that below.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight by four Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers. This gut-wrenching tragedy, in addition to the police murders of Tony McDade, Yassin Mohamed, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Steven Taylor, the vigilante murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and the hate crime murder of Nina Pop, and countless others, has re-sparked collective outrage that is being met with the brute force of state repression — all during a pandemic that is disproportionately claiming Black and Indigenous lives in this country.
We, as Asians4BlackLives (A4BL), join our comrades in denouncing these gross displays of state-sanctioned police violence, and renew our call to all non-Black people of Asian descent to move in solidarity with Black communities for Black liberation and resistance.
We cannot look past the fact that at least one of the MPD police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd, Tou Thao, is Asian American. While we acknowledge the complex and contradictory histories of who make up “Asian Americans,” another instance of the direct involvement of officers of Asian descent in the death of a Black man is not just a damning symbol for Asian American complicity in the death of Black people, but also a direct manifestation of anti-Blackness in our communities.
This history of anti-Blackness runs deep, from the murder of Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja Du to daily practices of racial profiling and cultural appropriation. Non-Black Asians must act swiftly to end all forms of violence against Black people. We call on Asian Americans to reject the model minority myth, which was historically created to delegitimize Black resistance while absolving non-Black Americans from addressing systemic racism. It is our duty to continue the legacy of past and present Black and Asian solidarity — from activists like Yuri Kochiyama, Grace Lee Boggs, and Kartar Dhillon to the Black Buffalo soldiers who defected from the U.S. army in support of Philippine independence. This means organizing our communities in solidarity and protesting using a diversity of tactics, including shutting down business as usual to ensure that each life wrongfully taken by the police does not go in vain.
Abolish the Police
We echo what Black activists have said countless times: the institution of modern-day policing — with its origins in slave-catching — has always served to protect private property and the ruling elite at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and poor and working class communities. Police violence against Black people is not the result of some officers being “a few bad apples.” The trees producing these apples are rotten to the roots. The problem cannot be fixed with simple reform measures — abolition of the police as an institution is necessary to prevent further Black lives from being lost.
Uplift Black Resistance, Help Build Black Power
We uplift the demands from the Movement for Black Lives and amplify the call to divest from police and invest in community. We also join Reclaim the Block,Black Visions Collective, and others who have called on the Minneapolis City Council to defund the Minneapolis Police Department (and all police departments) and invest in resources that actually keep Black communities (and thereby also all communities) safe and healthy by sharing and signing this petition.
We urge our communities to continue to join spaces and groups of people that are on the frontlines of building a society rooted in Black Power and Black Liberation, a world where Black Lives truly matter:
Build strong communities and community safety plans; #DontCalltheCops.
Fight to abolish the prison industrial complex that continuously profits from locking up Black people and perpetuates a never-ending cycle of criminalization and violence. #AbolishPrisons.
Fight to #CancelRent and raise the minimum wage so that Black communities can afford to live in the neighborhoods they are often displaced from.
Fight for a just transition, a #BlackNewDeal, #RedNewDeal and a #GreenNewDeal to counter the greed of corporations that for too long have profited off of the destruction of our Mother Earth and the environmental racism that disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous people.
Fight for #MedicareForAll, so that Black people can have access to quality healthcare that does not lead to catastrophic spending and bankruptcy.
Fight for a society in which wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few billionaires who utilize the police to violently protect their interests.
Fight against imperialism, which threatens Black communities globally, and support people-led movements worldwide.
Build life together that promotes not just surviving, but thriving: SOLUTIONS not PUNISHMENT.
Research the Black-led groups in your area. Talk to your non-Black friends and family about anti-Blackness. Listen, plug in to action, and donate to Black individuals and organizations.
Donate to vetted, Black-led organizations, bailfunds, and allied groups in your area. In Minnesota, we recommend the following, which are currently accepting donations as of June 1, 2020: George Floyd’s family GoFundMe,CTUL, a low-income worker of color-led organization (mostly Latinx) down the block from where George Floyd was killed, who have been offering mutual aid to protesters, and Northstar Health Collective, street medics treating people and training folks how to take care of each other in protests.
In all these struggles, follow the leadership and center the perspectives of those most affected.
All lives do not matter until Black Lives Matter. Asian Americans need to strengthen our solidarity with our Black siblings. We must struggle and fight together for an end to the unjust siege against Black communities everywhere, and put an end to the police state and all forms of state-sanctioned violence.
Together, with our comrades, we demand:
Justice for George Floyd Justice for Tony McDade Justice for Yassin Mohamed Justice for Sean Reed Justice for Breonna Taylor Justice for Steven Taylor Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Justice for Nina Pop Justice for all Black Lives
From January 19-25, 2019, impacted communities, social justice and advocacy organizations, and other allies across the country will launch a national week of action to stand with Southeast Asian American communities as they continue to be terrorized by policies of mass incarceration and deportation. This week of action, which spans 15 cities across the country, is on the heels of one of the largest Southeast Asian deportation flights in United States history and coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In honor of Dr. King’s memory, we call on our country to remember the three evils—racism, militarism and poverty—that continue to devastate and divide Southeast Asian, Black and Brown communities: bit.ly/SEAAWeekofAction
The timeline below was developed to help the public learn about the connection between US imperialism and war in Southeast Asian and the current struggle of Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities against deportations. A downloadable PDF version is available which can be folded into a mini-zine.
1953
The U.S. provides military aid to France to suppress Vietnam freedom fighters, helping France maintain Vietnam as its colony.
1961
U.S. involvement in the “Secret War” in Laos deepens. U.S. presence in Laos aids its military presence in Vietnam. The CIA recruits Hmong and other ethnic minority groups living in Laos to guerilla units fighting for the Royal Lao Government. Details of this war were not disclosed to the public, and were often completely denied.
1963
A U.S.-approved military coup overthrows President Ngô Đình Diệmin of Vietnam.
1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson deploys American combat troops to Vietnam. Domestic demonstrations against the U.S. war in Vietnam begin.
1964-73
The U.S. drops more than 2.5 million tons of ordnance on Laos over the course of 580,000 bombing missions. This is equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years.
1965-1973
The U.S. drops 2,756,941 tons of ordnance on Cambodia. This is more than the Allies dropped in the entirety of World War II. Information about the first four years of bombing was not made public until 2000.
1968
My Lai Massacre – US soldiers kill as many as 504 Vietnamese civilians including 119 children & 27 elderly.
1973
The U.S. & North Vietnam sign a ceasefire agreement.
The U.S. withdraws troops from Laos.
1975
The U.S. War in Vietnam comes to an end.
U.S. war and military presence in Southeast Asia leads to the rise of oppressive governments in both Cambodia & Laos. After a 5-year civil war in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge captures the capital city of Phnom Penh and a genocide of 1-3 million people begins in Cambodia.
The U.S. authorizes the entry of 130,000 evacuees from Vietnam, Cambodia, & Laos.
1978
A second wave of refugees begin to leave Vietnam, many by sea. Journeys by boat are dangerous and many refugees don’t survive the trip. Many countries become unwilling to accept refugees.
1979
The UN establishes the Orderly Departure Program to deal with various waves of refugees leaving Southeast Asia. The U.S. becomes the largest country of second asylum. People continued to leave their homelands as a result of the U.S. War in Vietnam through the early 1990s.
1980
U.S. Congress passes the Refugee Act.
1987
In California the Creation of the Gang Reporting Evaluation & Tracking database heightens the profiling and flagging youth of color as gang members.
1980s-1990s
Many Southeast Asian refugees resettle in already underserved neighborhoods and must compete for low-wage jobs or face unemployment. Many lack access to health care, mental health services, and support for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The rise of the school to prison pipeline: over-stretched public schools with inadequate resources lead to disengagement and dropouts with youth then being pushed into violence and juvenile detention facilities with few pathways to return to school.
1994
A national report finds that more than 30 percent of all Southeast Asian households in the US depend on welfare for survival. Among Cambodian and Laotian communities in California, the percentage of those on welfare reaches 77 percent.
The state of California passes Proposition 187, denying undocumented immigrants public services like education & healthcare.
The state of California passes Proposition 184, Three Strikes Sentencing Initiative, the nation’s toughest mandatory sentencing law.
U.S. Congress passes the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the largest crime bill in the history of the U.S. It provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons, $1.2 billion for border control, deportations, asylum reform and a tracking center for immigrants with convictions., $1.8 billion to reimburse states for incarceration of immigrants who also had convictions. . It also expedited deportation for immigrants who are not lawful permanent residents and who are convicted of aggravated felonies.
1996
U.S. Congress passes the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform bill. Immigrants who were on welfare were immediately removed if they were in the US for less than 5 years. Only immigrants who have been in the US for over 5 years can receive welfare.
U.S. Congress passes the Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act, setting mandatory detention and deportation laws that apply retroactively, making refugees and lawful permanent residents vulnerable to deportation. Forms of immigration relief previously available to people with convictions are eliminated. It also eliminates judicial review for cases.
2001
U.S. Congress passes the USA Patriot Act after September 11th, ushering in a new era of racial profiling, immigrant detentions, and deportations.
2002
First repatriation agreement between U.S. and Cambodia for Cambodia to accept deportees.
2008
The U.S. signs an agreement with Vietnam not to deport Vietnamese immigrants who entered the U.S. before July 12, 1995.
2017
The U.S. sanctions visas for Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar to pressure them to accept deportees.
2018
The U.S. goes back on its 2008 agreement with Vietnam in an attempt to deport more Vietnamese people.
More than 110 Cambodian people are deported in the calendar year, the highest number in U.S. history. 750+ Cambodian, 200+ Laotian, and 550+Vietnamese community members have been deported since 2002.
The Stop Urban Shield Coalition is organizing a mass statewide mobilization on Friday, September 9! Join #Asians4BlackLives in Pleasanton to fight against policing and militarization in our communities.
Can’t make it?Reblog this photo. Follow the #StopUrbanShield hashtag and join the conversation on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Share the Facebook eventwidely.
About Urban Shield Urban Shield brings together police units from across the country and world – including from the apartheid state of Israel – to train on how to better criminalize, control, and repress communities, particularly Black communities, people of color, and all those who are most impacted by policing.
Stop police violence in our communities. Join the mobilization.
With the recent news of two highly publicized extrajudicial killings of Black men at the hands of police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota and the subsequent wave of protests around the country, Asians 4 Black Lives in the Bay Area (A4BL) renews the call for all non-Black people of Asian descent to show solidarity with Black communities.
As many Black activists have said before us, the police are charged with keeping order and that order has always been white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism.* For this reason, Black and Brown communities will always be found guilty, the sentence is often death, and the victims are often recrucified in their death with problematic rationales that are promoted to justify the violence. We cannot trust that the individuals that uphold and implement institutions of state violence (e.g., police), regardless of their race, will be held accountable because they are “just doing their job.”
Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were the 135th and 136th Black people killed by police in 2016, only a little more than halfway through the year.** Violence directed at Black and Brown communities often goes without consequence. However, in the Dallas shooting that killed five police officers, injured seven more and two civilians, the suspect was killed on-site by a police-operated robot bomb. Furthermore, when the shooter was identified to be Black, the media rushed to link him to activist groups, Black nationalist groups, Black Lives Matter, even Black musicians, as a way to explain his violence. Black activists and movement leaders have had to make statements denouncing the shooter and his violent attack to defend themselves from an already anti-Black media and society that was all too ready to insist that they were responsible for the violence. The Black suspect was killed by the police and there will be no trial. In the court of public opinion, his guilt has already been established and Black-led groups have already been blamed.
Some Asian communities have been vocal in their support of police officers, specifically Asian police officers. This became apparent in the killing of Akai Gurley by Peter Liang in 2014. However, A4BL continues to be in solidarity with Black folks, communities, and Black-led movements to end the war on Black people. We will continue to hold Asians and Asian Americans in positions of power accountable to justice. While the officers involved in the execution of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling are not Asian, we call on Ramsey County Attorney, John J. Choi, to heed the Castile family’s request to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case.***
Beyond the stories we are familiar with, there are uncounted and unreported deaths by vigilantes, deaths of Black women, trans and gender non-conforming people, Black disabled folks and folks with other intersecting identities who are targets for racist, sexist, gendered, ableist, and other forms of oppressive violence.This is to say, all lives do not matter until Black lives matter. Now, more than ever, we need to call for an end to the unjust and ongoing daily inhumane treatment of Black people, an end to the police state, and an end to state-sanctioned violence. Our liberation is connected with the liberation of Black people and we call our Asian family, communities, and comrades to join the struggle, in solidarity with Black folks who find themselves under attack with daily direct threats to their lives and well-being.
On April 19, 2016, Judge Danny Chun sentenced Peter Liang to 800 hours of community service and five years’ probation for the murder of Akai Gurley. He received no jail time. His sentence once again exposes the impunity of police officers and the dismissal of Black lives. Our position as Asians4BlackLives Bay Area is clear: We hold no torch for Peter Liang. We want to hold all cops accountable for the violence they inflict, including the cops who killed Mario Woods, Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, Yuvette Henderson, and Luis Gongora in the Bay Area during the last two years.
We know our position is not shared by everyone in the Asian community. After Akai Gurley’s murder, hundreds of Asian Americans flooded the streets in multiple cities demanding “Justice for Peter Liang” and, throughout the trial, they continued to support the killer cop instead of the young murdered man. Partly, Asians responded to Peter Liang because of an ongoing fear: we haven’t assimilated enough, we’re still not white enough. They really believe that Liang’s being scapegoated. But our communities have also been pushed into accepting this narrative by right-wing Chinese nationalists, who flooded newspapers and Chinese media with pro-police rhetoric.
We reject the ongoing control of our communities by right wing nationalists who try to define the ways we identify, the ways we understand our homelands, and the ways we think about justice. Many of our parents and grandparents fled the oppression of their home countries, often escaping these same nationalists who used their own police forces to murder and kill. We’ve forgotten our own history. While many moderate Asians have attended Justice for Peter Liang rallies, the real force behind them are Chinese conservatives who have no interest in racial justice.
We also reject the idea that racial progress means that we’re able to commit violence, like white people, and get away with it, like white people, just because the victims are Black. Protesters have called for “equal treatment” for Peter Liang, in line with the acquittal of white police officers. They want us to believe that his conviction was an injustice and his sentence, of no jail time, is a fair outcome. It is not. The real injustice is police impunity. The lack of accountability is the real terror. The conviction of Peter Liang was an intentional act of white supremacy, but only in the context of the lack of indictments and convictions of white killer cops. It is this missing accountability that we need to focus us on. Fighting racism does not mean fighting for the same privileges that whiteness affords. Asians4BlackLives does not believe that a just world is one in which Asians are able to murder Black people with the same impunity as white people. How can we believe that the ability to harm other people means that we’ve achieved freedom?
We reject the divide and conquer strategy of white supremacy. We reject assimilation into whiteness. Asians4BlackLives believes that fighting racism means ending the violence we perpetuate against each other and against Black people. We as Asian Americans need to challenge how anti-blackness influences our own diverse communities. Part of this work includes educating our communities about the history of Black and Asian relationships and the effects of model minority narratives that continue to devalue Black lives and harm our own communities.
This work means centering, and standing with, Black people, remembering that our liberation is interconnected. This work means that when we advocate for Asian Americans, we do not throw our Black siblings under the bus for the scraps of “equality.” This work means learning about our own histories – about the countries from which our parents migrated, escaping right wing nationalisms and political repression. And of course, this work means organizing, protesting, and shutting down business as usual in the name of every single person killed by the police.
There are many beautifully written articles and important commentaries on the subject, and we’ve included links to many of them below.
Today, Asians4BlackLives stands inspired and proud alongside our comrades, the BlackFriday14, as Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announces she is dropping the charges against them. This is a victory for the people. This is a critical moment to celebrate the power of grassroots organizing, direct action, and the fierce multi-sector, mutli-racial solidarity that worked hard to win this decision. We congratulate the BlackFriday14, and we acknowledge Nancy O’Malley for deciding to stand on the side of justice.
The BlackFriday14 inspired so many of us when they shut down BART last November, as part of the nationwide Movement for Black Lives.Two weeks later, Asians4BlackLives, alongside other non-Black allies, chained shut the doors of the Oakland police headquarters while Black activists led an action outside. While Nancy O’Malley pressed for restitution and criminal charges against the BlackFriday14, she did not prosecute A4BL and other non-Black allies for this similar action. As non-Black people of color, we recognize this differential treatment as another example of how the state specifically targets and criminalizes Black communities. District attorneys across the country, including O’Malley, fail again and again to prosecute police officers for the murder of Black people, and instead use their time and resources to prosecute Black activists fighting for their lives under a state of emergency.
This is a global state of emergency. It is the violence of white supremacy and anti-Blackness that led to the police murder of Jamar Clark and the shootings of BLM protesters in Minneapolis, and the killing of Mario Woods in San Francisco just this week. There are many fronts of this daily war on Black Lives–from police violence, to gentrification, to mass incarceration. We will continue to take to the streets, shut down business as usual, and stand alongside our Black comrades to end this war. For we recognize that Black liberation is inextricably linked to our own. The forces of white supremacy and imperialism that harm us and our people across the world–from Syria, Lebanon, South Korea, Burma, and Palestine to Oakland–cannot be toppled without working to dismantle anti-Blackness.
Dropping the charges against the BlackFriday14 is one victory in a long struggle. This past Black Friday, Asians4BlackLives supported Black Lives Matter Bay Area in disrupting the SF Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, calling out Mayor Ed Lee for his role in fueling gentrification which has displaced many and left the city with only a 3% Black population, and his support in building a new SF Jail in a city where over half the current jail inmates are Black. This city, which prides itself on diversity, is really a city that is pushing out its Black residents, while it continues to erase and devalue their lives.
Some non-Black Asians like Mayor Lee have opted to become active agents in this war. Asians stand on both sides of the class divide in the Bay; as gentrifiers and gentrified, as oppressors and oppressed. Each of us has the choice to be silent and complicit in the forces harming our communities–or, to commit to the fight for Black liberation, and the liberation of all of our peoples. As we declare this victory with the BlackFriday14, we call on our Asian sisters, brothers, and siblings to join us in this fight towards freedom, safety, and wellbeing for all.
OAKLAND, CA—Activists from Black.Seed (formerly known as Black Brunch) and Asians4BlackLives are blocking the City Council meeting today to create space for community participation that was denied in the approval process for the sale of the E. 12th Street Parcel and to hold a people’s council meeting. On the night the City Council planned a vote to approve the sale of the E. 12th Street Parcel, activists blockaded the City Council chambers in an attempt to keep the council meeting from taking place, demanding the Council act to protect low-income residents in the Eastlake neighborhood from displacement and increased policing.
Xan West from Black.Seed and former resident of the Eastlake neighborhood said, “The inconvenience we’re causing is temporary. The real inconvenience will take place for Black and Asian Eastlake residents if the City sells the land to the luxury condo developer. These residents won’t be able to call the Eastlake neighborhood home anymore.”
Activists from Black.Seed are pressuring the Oakland City Council and Michael Johnson, the CEO of the Black-led development firm, UrbanCore LLC, to be accountable to Black residents in Oakland. “We are here to expose the limitations of identity politics. You can’t say that selling the land to a token Black developer is good for Black people. What’s good for the Black community in Oakland is a long-term plan for us to live healthy lives without police surveillance in Oakland. We want protection, not policing” said Katie Loncke, Black.Seed activist.
While the proposed sale of the E. 12th Street Parcel would be the first to a Black-led developer in years, activists are stressing that this sale will do more harm than good to Oakland’s Black community. “Black business should not harm black people. Michael Johnson’s 100% market-rate development would increase surveillance and policing of Black communities and speed up the gentrification that is driving Black displacement from Oakland,” said Antoinette Chen See, Black.Seed activist.
Asians4BlackLives also joined the blockade, highlighting the need for Asian communities to act in solidarity with Black residents. Lynn Truong, an owner of multiple commercial properties and businesses in the area, recently deceived monolingual Asian immigrant seniors into supporting the proposed development at the Oakland Planning Commission, and Urbancore paid for transportation for the seniors to attend the Planning Commission meeting. “Lynn Truong lied about affordable housing to trick Asian immigrant seniors into supporting luxury condos that would displace them and their Black and Latino neighbors. We’re here to speak against greed that will harm our neighbors,” said Cayden Mak, Asians4BlackLives activist.
The Eastlake neighborhood in Oakland is one of the most diverse in the city—a majority people-of-color and working-class neighborhood. Activists additionally highlighted that the proposed project’s rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,150, a price inaccessible to the neighborhood’s current residents and a sign of rapid gentrification, which in turn will lead to increased policing.
SAN FRANCISCO– As hundreds of thousands gathered in San Francisco’s Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year, #Asians4BlackLives used large-scale artwork and light projections to share their wishes for safety, justice, and resilience for Black communities.
To maintain the Chinese tradition of hanging red scrolls and handing out red envelopes to extend blessings, #Asians4BlackLives members lined the parade route with 10-feet-tall lanterns decorated with red scrolls reading “Everyone benefits when we value black lives.” They handed out over 1000 red envelopes with blessings in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
“Lunar New Year celebrations are about setting the foundation for a prosperous year,” said Sydney Fang of #Asians4BlackLives. “Black communities nationwide have been standing up to state-sanctioned violence and fighting for their liberation. As Asian Americans, we have the power and responsibility to stand on the side of justice. We are passing out red envelopes here to share our wishes for safety, justice, and resilience of Black communities, so that all communities can prosper.”
Another Chinese New Year tradition is that of repaying debts to start the new year on a positive note. #Asians4BlackLives recognizes the debts owed to their ancestors who have sacrificed for them and protected them, as well as the debts they owe to Black movement activists and leaders. “Many of the rights that we enjoy as Asian Americans were fought for and won by Black liberation movements, including voting rights protections, desegregation in schools, and an end to Asian immigration bans. We stand on the shoulders of Black organizers who have fought against racial inequality and institutional oppression. Their organizing has benefited Asian American communities in America. And it is our duty to honor and recognize it. Paying this debt means continuing to fight for Black lives because our struggles are connected,” said Sydney.
“Often times, Black and Asian communities are pitted against each other. Asians are seen as the “Model Minority.” We are here to say that we are not a wedge, and we are not each other’s enemies. This is why it is important for Black and Asian communities to stand together during this time,” said Navina Khanna of the activist group.
San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar also demonstrated support for the actions during the Parade by wearing a “#BlackLivesMatter” t-shirt.
#Asians4BlackLives is calling on other Asian Americans to join the struggle in solidarity with Black lives. “We need our communities to join us in challenging anti-black racism by talking with your family and co-workers or supporting organized direct actions to call for an end to the war on Black people,” said Navina Khanna. “Our communities’ liberation depends on the liberation of Black people. As we wrap up the Lunar New Year celebrations and welcome the year of the Ram, we will make this the year that we stomp on injustice”
We’re celebrating Lunar New Year by honoring the history of Asian-Black solidarity and calling on Asian Americans to stand with Black Lives Matter. Which side are you on?
#Asians4BlackLives is celebrating the Year of the Ram by supporting safety, justice, and resilience for Black communities.
We’re passing out red envelopes at the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade to ask our communities to reflect on Black Lives Matter and their relationship to the movement. We were inspired by DC Asians in solidarity: solidarityenvelopes.tumblr.com
One of the traditions we honor today is repaying our debts in order start the new year on a positive note. Today, we are paying homage to the great debt we owe to Black struggle. As Asian Americans, we enjoy many rights that were fought for and won by Black liberation movements, from civil rights to immigration reform. Today, we too have the power to stand on the side of justice.
The act of giving red envelopes is a way to share luck, well wishes and prosperity. We wish you and your family a happy and safe Year of the Ram, and hope you will join us in the Black Lives Matters movement and conversation by collectively wishing the same for Black folks as well.
Heed the Goat’s bounty and strength to gather and organize loved ones, new and newer, to affirm life. A favorable year yields fulfillment, more love, 1-on-1’s, deepening relationships, and opportunities to resist, educate, and empower.
For the Dog, a noble zodiac in transition from the friendly Horse year, justice and fairness are strong attributes that manifest personally and in collective community. This year, your empathetic nature is a reminder to know when to love fiercely and when to be a supportive ally.
strong memory, present, working ethic, restorative, tactful
Building movements asks for a strong amount of focus. In this 2015 Year of Resistance, it is you, kind chicken/rooster, who can provide the balance, alignment, resourcefulness, and commitment needed to parallel the Goat’s leaps toward equity.
The Goat reminds us that balance is key. Like successful organizing, consider making time to plan, commit to self- and group-care, and clarify and understand roles. Aligning your head with your heart ensures being grounded with purpose, especially because the year of the Monkey is next!
Oh, goat! Your creativity and thoughtfulness brings steady long-term visioning, complementing how your solid hooves can pounce when urgent times call for urgent measures. Your compassionate feelings will help remind us why lives matter, and your intuitive heart will help us unchain and break free towards greener pastures.
Your independent and free spirit continues on this year, along with an orientation to recharge and ground yourself in confidence. Remember that building a movement is a group effort - seek companionship, ask for clarity, and trust, trust, trust.
Practicing self-awareness of emotions and heeding others’ vibes are essential to the snake’s relationship to the free-spirited Goat. An auspicious year brings opportunities to strike at the status quo, figure out the root of things, and follow your heart to do what you love with community.
Breathe deep, loving dragon. An adventurous past Horse year, transitioning to this Goat year, yields a time to personally pause, think, reflect, and stretch. It is with these moments that Dragons allow for inner growth, deep truth-telling, and more creative imagination with community.
SAN FRANCISCO— As hundreds of thousands gathered in San Francisco’s Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year, #Asians4BlackLives used large-scale artwork to share their wishes for safety, justice, and resilience for Black communities.
To maintain the Chinese tradition of hanging red scrolls and handing out red envelopes to extend blessings, #Asians4BlackLives members lined the parade route with 10-feet-all lanterns decorated with red scrolls reading “Everyone benefits when we value black lives.” They handed out over 1000 red envelopes with blessings in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
“Lunar New Year celebrations are about setting the foundation for a prosperous year,” said Sydney Fang of #Asians4BlackLives. “Black communities nationwide have been standing up to state-sanctioned violence and fighting for their liberation. As Asian Americans, we have the power and responsibility to stand on the side of justice. We are passing out red envelopes here to share our wishes for safety, justice, and resilience of Black communities, so that all communities can prosper.”
Another Chinese New Year tradition is that of repaying debts to start the new year on a positive note. #Asians4BlackLives recognizes the debts owed to their ancestors who have sacrificed for them and protected them, as well as the debts they owe to Black movement activists and leaders. “Many of the rights that we enjoy as Asian Americans were fought for and won by Black liberation movements, including voting rights protections, desegregation in schools, and an end to Asian immigration bans. We stand on the shoulders of Black organizers who have fought against racial inequality and institutional oppression. Their organizing has benefited Asian American communities in America. And it is our duty to honor and recognize it. Paying this debt means continuing to fight for Black lives because our struggles are connected,” said Sydney.
“Often times, Black and Asian communities are pitted against each other. Asians are seen as the “Model Minority.” We are here to say that we are not a wedge, and we are not each others’ enemies. This is why it is important for Black and Asian communities to stand together during this time,” said Navina Khanna of the activist group.
San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar also demonstrated support for the actions during the Parade by wearing a “#BlackLivesMatter” sweatshirt.
#Asians4BlackLives is calling on other Asian Americans to join the struggle in solidarity with Black lives. “We need our communities to join us in challenging anti-black racism by talking with your family and co-workers or supporting organized direct actions to call for an end to the war on Black people,” said Navina Khanna. “Our communities’ liberation depends on the liberation of Black people. As we wrap up the Lunar New Year celebrations and welcome the year of the Ram, we will make this the year that we stomp on injustice”
