In the midst of the rise of many racially motivated attacks in the past year, the Asian and Black Communities in Oakland came together last Saturday, February 13th at the start of Lunar New Year to support each other through the tough fight against violence, mainly prompted by the presence of COVID-19 and fueled by the Trump administration’s reference to it as the “Chinese Virus.” Along with this, advanced technology including the media and various social networking platforms have contributed to the rapid spread of many false statements and conspiracy theories, causing the public to give into confirmation bias as they listen and watch news outlets that have the same views and opinions as them, disregarding other points of view like CNN vs. Fox. Additionally, Trump’s Twitter and the influence of politicians/public figures have greatly influenced public opinion and therefore political polarization. With at least 18 hate crimes in just two weeks, many spoke out to acknowledge the crippling need for the halt to violence and a movement of cross-cultural education, safety, and accountability for everyone.
In this rally, leaders of the Black community made it a point to address the “unfair stereotype”— that members of the city’s black community have been targeting their Asian neighbors. Leaders of both groups rallied together in Madison Park, showing solidarity and discussed the importance of cross-cultural unity to promote multicultural healing. A line of speakers from both minority groups ranging from community members to the Mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaaf, presented stories of their own incidents dealing with racially motivated assaults and discussed ways to prioritize public safety and protection of their communities from both verbal and physical attacks, especially following the recent brutality towards the elderly and vulnerable.
Some community members showed their support by holding signs saying “Asian Americans save lives as your doctors, nurses, grocers, farmers, and teachers — we are not the enemy” and “We are not the enemy — end white supremacy” as well as wearing t-shirts declaring “Black-Asian unity.” An article published by Stanford Daily analyzes the history and struggles of Asian and Black communities in terms of their unity, police violence, police support, how many Asians across the country are not able to recognize racial inequalities, and how the “model minority” myth plays a role in the unintentional upholding of white supremacy.
In referencing the Black Lives Matter movement, it is clear that hefty publicity and attention across many social media platforms, news outlets, and even casual conversation was present towards the rallies that were held. Though this is one of the first rallies and acknowledgments of the Asian community’s inequalities and struggles, there has not been nearly as much media coverage, publicity, and attention towards the Asian community’s attempts to speak out for justice. Asian culture tends to push uncomfortable sentiments aside and internalize feelings for convenience, straying away from stirring commotion; however, this must change in order for social activism to make its way into the mainstream news. Let’s start getting comfortable with talking about uncomfortable topics.
6 comments:
I think that this is a very powerful event that shows how people, despite their differences in race, can be united. Throughout this past year, we've seen transgressions against both the Black and Asian communities, and to see them unite in a common goal is moving, to say the least. Recently we've seen attacks against Asian elders in numerous cities (Oakland, San Francisco, Queens) and people have been quick to point fingers at their perpetrators, perhaps even scapegoating the black community in a sense. Carroll Fife, an SF Bay Area Activist puts it clearly, "You can't fight racism with racism." I think that seeing the Black and Asian communities coming together to call for solidarity and paying homage to the victims is a step towards a unified society and finding out how to combat future transgressions towards each respective group.
This post really highlights the importance of unity between communities of color, as white supremacy has largely created a divide between the Black and Asian communities, and events like these bring us closer to unity.
Historical events, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S., drove this wedge. Even after this ban was removed and Asians were able to immigrate to the United States, they were under tight restrictions— only those with high incomes/high levels of education/high skilled laborers were allowed to come. This led to the perpetuation of the model minority myth. For example, New York Magazine's Andrew Sullivan ended an article by stating "Today, Asian-Americans are among the most prosperous, well-educated, and successful ethnic groups in America... It couldn't be that all whites are not racists or that the American dream still lives?" Sentiments like this not only overlook the high rates of poverty that some Asian groups face (like Bhutanese Americans), but also drives the false idea that Black Americans can overcome the effects of centuries of enslavement through pure hard work to achieve the "American Dream," thus minimizing their struggles. I hope that our communities can continue to work with one another to build unity and continue to debunk harmful myths like the model minority myth.
^source: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks
With so much division, even among minorities, it is very telling to see both the communities unite to support each other's struggles and call for much-needed reform. From the horrific acts of violence targeting elderly Asians to the police brutality against Blacks spurring the need for change and solidarity protest, the message for acceptance and addressing these inequities could not be clearer. Hopefully, with more protests and attention raised, legislative reform and more protections for these vulnerable communities will be enacted.
This really highlights the importance of unity between POC as white supremacy has created a divide between many minorities. Instead of focusing on the large problem that stems from white supremacy it causes us to turn away from the issue and pits us against each other. From all these acts that have been increasing against Asian Americans and also acts throughout the years against African Americans highlights the importance for the need of change and protest. To point out the inequalities that are happening in the us and hopefully with more protesting and attention to the topic of inequality, change will happen for the better and better protect minorities.
With recent events that have been in the news and all the division in the last year it is really inspiring to see two communities come together in unison and help each other. Both communities have been dealing with awful acts of hate and oppression dating back decades with racist laws, people and social norms. It is truly horrific to see that awful things that these two communities still have to deal with today. However seeing two races come together as one community saying that they support each other is incredible and a great step forward to help combat the awful actions and occurrences.
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