Confronting My Role as an Asian-American Perpetuating Anti-Black Racism
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many other black men and women before them have been a huge wake up call for me. More specifically, they have challenged me to think about my complicity, as an Asian-American, perpetuating anti-Black racism in America.
I’ve recently confronted the idea on what it means to be a “model minority,” which is the cultural expectation placed on Asian-Americans to be smart, successful, and submissive — among other damaging characteristics. Although some may think this is a “positive” stereotype, the model minority myth is actually quite damaging because it creates division amongst people of color by creating racial hierarchies where one minority group is “superior” or “inferior” to the other. By doing this, the model minority myth protects institutionalized white supremacy and validates anti-Black racism.
It’s hard to admit, but the model minority myth explains why I personally and previously felt uncomfortable calling myself a “person of color” and why I found myself relating more to white privilege. I was taught to believe that the Asian-American experience was somehow more adjacent to the white experience — although I live in a world in which all people of color endure white supremacy.
From my perspective, it seems that Asians and Asian-Americans who uphold the ideals of the model minority are comfortable, either consciously or unconsciously, with the perceived benefits of the current system and the privileges of being complicit in that system — even at the expense of supporting racial hierarchies and anti-Black racism. However, the notion of a model minority only harms other people of color because we put other minorities down in order to maintain our perceived “status” in society. This is exemplified so painfully in the case of George Floyd and the Asian cop, Tou Thao. Thao chose to stay silent and be complicit while a man was inhumanely murdered in front of him. He demonstrated the ways in which anti-Blackness continue to exist in the Asian community.
To my Asian-American community, I love you, but I notice your silence. Silence is privilege. Silence is complicity. We need to speak up. Every single one of us should be outraged with what is happening, and we all need to come together in order to work towards eliminating injustices and structural racism in this country. We cannot cry out about violence against Asians and stay silent about the violence against Black people in this country today. We cannot enjoy the benefits of black culture while white supremacy crushes black communities. Intersectionality is important — now more than ever.
As Asian Americans, we need to realize that we benefit from certain privileges that come at the expense of the Black community. We need to do the same work that white people have to do and being Asian does not exempt us from that. Challenging internalized anti-Black beliefs is going to take work. We need to unlearn what has been taught to us by our family, the education system, and the mainstream media. We can start by doing some deep introspection, having meaningful conversations, and consuming media intentionally. Not doing this work and staying silent is being complicit to white supremacy, and we cannot be on the wrong side of history here. Please join me by confronting our complicity in a racist system, tackling internalized anti-Black beliefs, and dismantling this idea of the “model minority.” ❤️
Here are some resources to get started on your journey:
📕 TO READ
Note: For the books, consider buying from a local bookstore — not Amazon.
30+ Ways Asians Perpetuate Anti-Black Racism Everyday
6 Reasons We Need to Dismantle the Model Minority Myth of Those ‘Hard-Working’ Asians
6 Ways Asian Americans Can Tackle Anti-Black Racism in Their Families
20+ Allyship Actions for Asians to Show Up for the Black Community Right Now
The real reasons the U.S. became less racist toward Asian Americans
‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks
Letters for Black Lives — Letters for Talking About Anti-Blackness in Your Family
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
✍🏼 TO THINK ABOUT
Note: These though starters are credited to @eeewhysee
💵 TO DONATE
Note: I did not include Minnesota Freedom Fund because they are encouraging monetary support to other orgs. Consider doing research into local bail funds of grassroots organizations. I’ve included some from the Bay Area (which is where I live).
Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee Bail Fund
People’s Breakfast — Black Socialist Grassroot organization bailing Black folks in Oakland out of jail from the protests
📺 TO WATCH
List from @jezzchung
13th
When They See Us
