Yellow Peril Supports Black Power
Why Asian Americans should care
Going to a high school where more than 70 percent of students were people of color and moving on to go to a diverse university, I was exposed to so much culture. Our school actively celebrated Hispanic Heritage, Black History, and Asian Pacific Heritage Months. It definitely made me a better person and I’m thankful our school had administrators who cared about diversity. Everyone at school looked like us. The hallways were seas of melanin and textured hair. I guess we were all in a safe and accepting bubble. But that bubble definitely popped during these past few months.
It’s been about two months since George Floyd spoke his last words “I can’t breathe” and the nation is angry. It’s like a wound that’s been reopened: a 400-year-old issue has finally come back to the surface.
My friends and I were outraged at the treatment that Black people have had to experience for years and George Floyd was the last straw for us and many others. This is an issue that affects many students and teachers at my school and I wanted to make sure I was doing my part to help but some people from my community felt otherwise.
As an Asian-American, and specifically a Korean-American, there is a deep-rooted anti-Black sentiment. A lot of Korean Americans in California distinctly remember the 1992 LA riots that came from the LAPD’s excessive force and beating of Rodney King, a Black construction worker, when arresting him.
People took to the streets to protest this awful behavior on the LAPD’s part. With racial tensions between African-Americans and Korean-Americans already at an all-time high with one notable event being when a Korean shop owner killed a Black teenager just last year, the rioters destroyed Koreatown on the second day of riots.
As the riot spread, the police blocked the roads connecting Koreatown and the wealthy neighborhoods. Emergency responders and police officers ignored the calls from Korean Americans stuck in Koreatown as people destroyed their shops and businesses due to low social status and language barriers. The people of Koreatown took it upon themselves to defend their stores and had to set up neighborhood watch groups which led to more conflict between the two groups.
Out of the $850 million worth of damages, half of that amount was damaged Korean businesses. Many LA-based Koreans still face hardships economically and even psychologically from this.
As someone who lurks Korean online forums, there were many debates about how we, as Koreans, should respond to BLM. A lot of the younger people were fully on-board and ready to go to protests in support of the movement but some of the people who were affected by the LA riots, people my parents’ age, and some of their children, were understandably hesitant.
It’s hard to convince someone to support the people who destroyed their livelihood but I think we all need to work towards the bigger goal: true equality.
All lives don’t matter until Black lives do.
A win for the Black community is for all of us. As Asian Americans, we have been used against minorities because many of us are highly educated and living well but that’s a gross misconception. You can’t possibly generalize all Asian Americans when we come from over 40 different countries. Asian Americans’ median income varies greatly by subgroup. We have yet to smash the bamboo ceiling and racism against Asian Americans is more normalized than ever before. We are not pawns that White people can shove between them and minorities. We need to stand together for the collective goal of improving the lives of all people.
I think it’s time for Korean Americans to turn over a new leaf. We can’t deny that we have privileges that others do not have but as minorities, we can also empathize with some of the issues the Black community faces. Since we can empathize, we should help the people around us get the justice and equality they deserve.
Some Things We Can Do
- Talk: I encourage all of you out there to have a serious talk with your families about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. Asia has a rich history of protests. A lot of our parents probably participated in these protests growing up. Help your parents understand that this is no different and that they should care too. If they aren’t convinced, don’t be discouraged. Change takes time and little by little, you’ll start to see the effects your words have on them.
- Donate: There are many organizations from the NAACP, ACLU, and others that are constantly working to fight for African American people. If you don’t have any money, there are a lot of Youtube videos that are donating all ad revenue to Black organizations and bail funds such as this one.
- Protest: If there are still protests in your area, you should go to one! Please remember to stay safe, wear a mask, and bring water. If you can’t protest, make your voice heard by emailing your district’s representative and local government officials. Your local officials are the ones who run the town which includes setting the police budget. If enough people pressure the local government, you can make a change in your area.
Stay Trill (true & real),
Rachelle
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About The Author: Rachelle (she/her) is a sophomore at Rutgers University studying Computer Science and Statistics. Her favorite color is sunflower and she loves coffee ice cream.
