I had the opportunity to attend a webinar by one of my favorite human beings, Lily Zheng. I am struck over and over again by how important it is to learn, understand and talk about HISTORY. Lily delivered an insightful, heartfelt, brave conversation with insights on leading anti-racist efforts and historical context. When we miss patterns and miss seeing how history repeats itself, we are bound to repeat. Lily shared that by contextualizing the current moment in light of history, we might move toward stopping Asian hate. Here are a few of my takeaways from the webinar:
-
Anti-Asian violence has been embedded into the fabric of the United States going back as far as the 1800’s.
-
Historically, racism against Asians in the US has roots in US imperialism and settler colonialism.
-
Do you know about the Page Act of 1875, and the 1882 Exclusion Act and the Japanese Internment Camps?
The murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit is yet another instance of an Asian American being targeted without understanding or caring about the differences between the various Asian identities. Vincent was a Chinese American man killed by auto workers who were angry about the success of Japan’s auto industry—that it would create job loss for US auto workers.
If we are going to build cross-racial solidarity and fight anti-Blackness our work must include fighting anti-Asian hate. My heart is broken alongside my colleagues, peers and friends whom I value, care for and support that are hurting as a result of the violence that continues to run rampant and largely unchecked within Black and Asian communities. Here are a few action items shared through the Berrett-Koehler webinar with Lily to stop Asian hate:
-
Transform your organization’s DEI work into anti-racist action. Here’s a step-by-step guide by Lily Zheng that can help you. We also have this resource on how to move from non-racist into anti-racist.
-
Consider supporting the work of the following organizations:
-
Organize with low-income Asian American communities to stop gentrification and urban displacement in Chinatowns and other Asian urban communities. Some local options:
-
Halt deportations and persecution of undocumented Americans, many of them Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders. Findings from Pew Research Group show that: "the number of unauthorized immigrants rose over the 2007-2017 decade from two birth regions: Asia and Central America." An example of deportations occurring across the country come from California, with the deportation of Cambodian Americans. Sign a petition here.
-
Denounce anti-Chinese antagonism from government agencies, media outlets and public figures.
-
Hold social media platforms accountable for the anti-Asian racism and harassment that occur on them.
-
Discard the “model minority” myth and refuse to let Asians be pitted against other Black and brown communities.
-
Educate ourselves and our communities about the history of anti-Asian racism and how it manifests today, and commit to ACTION, not platitudes.
Also, these resources were published on our Ask-Us-Anything page, but I felt it was also worth sharing here:
-
Instagram Learning from Asian voices: @asians4antiracism, @annie_wu_22, @asiansformentalheath, @aapiwomenlead, @beyonkz, @jocekittyllama
Affinity Groups at U-M for BIPOC:
-
U-M Association of Black Professionals, Administrators, Faculty and Staff (Facebook group)
-
U-M Programs and Resources Addressing Issues Facing African Americans
Published: May 2021
Author: Angie Stewart
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Lead and Facilitator Engagement Program Manager
Organizational Learning