Last week I spoke on a panel at the Museum of Chinese Americans titled, âMOCACITIZEN: Letâs Talk About Ferguson and Asian America.â During this time of civil unrest and injustices around the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, itâs been invigorating to see Asian Americans across the country organize in support of #BlackLivesMatter.
As someone who is plugged into national Asian American activist networks, my social media feeds and inbox have been exploding with organized efforts to mobilize the Asian American community during this time. Actions have included local and national conversations, educational forums, a social media campaign launching #Asians4BlackLives, and showing up alongside other communities of color to march in the streets and shutdown the Oakland Police Department.
It makes me proud to know that I am part of a community that is proactive, visible and vocal about taking a stand against anti-blackness and aligning on the side of social justice for all.
However, none of this is shown in the news coverage Iâm following about post-Ferguson protests. Asian Americans are consistently portrayed in mainstream media as invisible, passive, a model minority and worse of all, positioned in opposition to the black community.
Nevertheless, Iâve seen one Asian American man make major headlines â NYPD rookie cop, Peter Liang, who fatally shot Akai Gurley on November 20th. Liangâs timing in mainstream news coverage is not the least bit coincidental.
Where was the media coverage and public outrage when 19 year old Hmong American, Fong Lee, was fatally shot eight times by an officer who faced no penalty?
Where was the media coverage and public outrage when Vietnamese American, Cao Bich Tran, was fatally shot in 2003 by officers who were not indicted?
Where was the media coverage and public outrage when unarmed Michael Cho was fatally shot 11 times by La Habra police, who were declared of no wrongdoing?
Peter Liangâs story supports a popular narrative that has historically positioned Asian Americans against other communities of color. Although the Asian American community is complex and nuanced due to its multi-generational and multi-ethnic nature, it is generally framed as the model minority, academically successful and compliant with authority.
Leeâs, Tranâs and Choâs stories contradict the mainstream narrative by revealing the reality of many Asian Americans as being impoverished, 1st generation, targeted by law enforcement and victims of injustice - from police brutality to deportation.
When I first saw Peter Liangâs headline surface amidst the outrage of police brutality, I could feel the collective cringe of Asian Americans across the country shaking heads in angst. Understanding the power of mainstream media to shape minds and the historical pattern of Asian Americans being propped in anti-black racism, it was not far-fetched to feel as if this one story threatened to derail solidarity efforts.
In addition, it is not unheard of that some Asian Americans have participated in anti-blackness. This goes back to the fact that the Asian American community is a complex conglomerate that can not be characterized or defined as one. Without making excuses, anti-black racism by Asian Americans could be attributed to internalized racism from media and also the varying degrees of relationship to authority due to immigration and refugee backgrounds.
During the panel discussion, a black female ally expressed her frustration in seeing a lack of reciprocity with Asian Americans supporting black issues. Interestingly enough, her frustration resonated with me, except I had always felt there was non-reciprocity from the black community to show support for Asian American causes.
Regardless, I never allowed the observation to mutate into resentment. I was aware that tensions between the Black and Asian community exist as a result of media propaganda and lack of interracial community organizing and education.
Because if we truly care about supporting each otherâs communities, then attending an Asian American studies class should be just as important as an African American studies class.
By the end of the event, an Asian American woman in the audience mentioned that there would be another community meeting to discuss Asian American mobilization, specifically in response to the Peter Liang story and pending grand jury decision.
At that point, I reiterated the idea that mainstream media is a tool in promoting anti-blackness and Asian Americans are often a bolt to fasten that message. Which is why it is absolutely critical and necessary for us to continue being vocal, being present and being felt, so that it is clear where we stand. Mainstream media will continue to position Asian Americans in alignment with an anti-black racist agenda, so we must speak up to align ourselves on the side of justice for everyone.
As Gil Scott-Heron once said, âThe revolution will not be televised.â So letâs not allow mainstream media to be the purveyors of reality. We must continue to choose the side of justice. We must continue to work together. We must continue to spread the truth â by any means necessary.
Follow Sahra Vang Nguyen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/oneouncegold
sigh. this was good until the part mentioning peter liang. everything afterwards went downhill.
i remember there was a lot of outrage for cao bich tran among the local community. the case was highly controversial too. i may have been a child at the time but you dont forget the outrageous things that happen to your family's own community. the coverage of the case wasnt enough among american news media but it certainly was there in the vietnamese outlets.
"In addition, it is not unheard of that some Asian Americans have participated in anti-blackness." should be "In addition, all of Asian America have participated in some degree of anti-blackness."
just because we are also considered people of color does not mean we get a free pass. you do not talk about anti-blackness without fully considering your own community's position and role in it. once we understand that we, as asian americans, are complicit to the negative systematic bias against black people, we do not use the bullshit word "some". it's like using the #notallmen hashtag. black people do not have the luxury of "some". for them, it has always been #yesallasianamericans.
this is another bullshit statement: "During the panel discussion, a black female ally expressed her frustration in seeing a lack of reciprocity with Asian Americans supporting black issues. Interestingly enough, her frustration resonated with me, except I had always felt there was non-reciprocity from the black community to show support for Asian American causes."
more bullshit:Â "Because if we truly care about supporting each otherâs communities, then attending an Asian American studies class should be just as important as an African American studies class."
that is sahra's own anti-black racism right there and for an attempt to talk about anti-blackness, it is highly ironic. this link will explaining everything about the irony.Â
as asianamericanactivism has eloquently stated, asian americans (including me) really need to keep these 3 understandings in mind whenever we try to talk or write about anti-blackness:Â
"The stories behind the photos say several things to me: 1. Asian Americans owe A LOT to Black Power and Black radicals and thinkers, 2. our liberation is inextricably tied to the liberation of all oppressed peoples, 3. as Asian Americans, it is our duty to listen, learn, and work to struggle in solidarity with others."
why did i bold number 1? well, learning about the asian american struggle requires an understanding and acceptance of the black struggle FIRST. you do not steal the ideas and labor of other people, adopt it as your own, and then say it was your original idea. the asian american movement takes almost all of our ideas from the black power movement and black radicals.Â
this is not my original thought nor is it for asianamericanactivism. black thinkers have been saying this for years. asian americans have repeated it. other poc community groups have repeated the same sentiment. the texts in this link will explain everything. read all of them.
now you understand why the parts i called out in sahra's piece are bullshit. that is not how you do solidarity. you do not center a discussion about support for black lives on your own feelings or twist the lessons of anti-blackness to fulfill an agenda about mainstream media exploiting the model minority.
we must examine our [community's] own racism in order to deconstruct it and recreate what our role should be as so-called "allies" to black people. we cannot afford to simply point fingers at mainstream media for pitting us against black people and then call it a day. the asian american person in a white supremacist system is allowed to be this kind of lazy when fighting against oppression so we must remember to be diligent about staying awake, not falling asleep.
[sidenotes: i dont believe in the concept of "allyship". if you do, that's great but dont expect me to agree with you on it. also, i originally saw this post on my personal tumblr but i realized that my commentary had greater relevance here for activists on tumblr and future apsa board members. my words and thoughts are not representative of apsa @ UCI's board members; this year's group is relatively new to the concept of anti-blackness.]
