Opposing Yet Interconnected: Black/Asian Solidarity and Anti-Blackness in AAPI Communities

Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer

The murder of George Floyd prompted communities across our state and country to reevaluate their response to and participation in anti-Blackness. As we engaged in critical reflection, Asian Americans were confronted by a complicated and emotionally loaded history, filled with both Black/Asian solidarity and anti-Blackness in Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Now several months from the uprisings, where do Minnesotan Asian Americans stand?

The details of George Floyd’s death painfully highlighted the realities of anti-Blackness among AAPIs. One of the police officers that participated in killing Mr. Floyd was Tou Thao, a Hmong-American. The specific relationship between Minnesota’s Black and Hmong communities, who often live in close proximity to each other, is complex. Anti-Blackness and xenophobia can create a strained atmosphere, but there have also been instances of collaboration and unity. Tou Thao’s actions illustrate the worst parts of that dynamic, and of Asian Americans’ anti-Blackness more generally.

Contrastingly, when Hmong-American Fong Lee was killed by police in 2006, Hmong and Black community members came together in solidarity to demand justice. That solidarity also showed up in the aftermath of Mr. Floyd’s murder: Many Hmong folks participated in a “Hmong 4 Black Lives” march at the Minnesota State Capitol on May 31, including Mr. Lee’s mother, Youa Vang Lee.

Where does anti-Blackness in AAPI communities come from? The model minority myth, which has been used to weaponize Asian Americans’ very existence against other folks of color, deserves its fair share of blame. So does the pressure to assimilate, which many AAPI immigrants feel when coming to the United States. This can manifest as a desire to get closer to whiteness, and therefore anti-Blackness.

These factors can lead to AAPI communities demonstrating powerful anti-Black attitudes and actions. There is also a strain of less virulent but nonetheless harmful anti-Blackness, shown through apathy. This is often motivated by a lack of understanding of the movement, and by a sense that Asian Americans have their own battles to fight and should focus on that.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the many instances of Black/Asian solidarity. Asian Americans like Yuri Kochiyama, Grace Lee Boggs, and Kiyoshi Kuromiya played active roles in the Civil Rights movement. Locally, APIs4BlackLives-MN was active as early as 2015. Following the police killing of Jamar Clark, this volunteer organization engaged in conversations and awareness-building about Black Lives Matter within Minnesota’s Asian American communities.

Conversation is something AAPIs are turning to again in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s murder. Many Minnesotan Asian Americans are having tough conversations with family and community members. They are engaging in education efforts, translating Black Lives Matter terms into AAPI languages. The goal is to teach themselves and other Asian Americans, without having to rely on the labor of Black folks for information.

Other AAPIs are demonstrating solidarity by donating funds, volunteering time, and showing up at rallies. As the months pass by, Asian Americans are also searching for even more innovative opportunities to contribute. What these future actions of solidarity might look like isn’t entirely clear yet, but if AAPI communities continue to regularly engage in anti-racist unlearning, it seems likely they will find new and impactful ways to participate in the dismantling of white supremacy.

In some ways, both Black/Asian solidarity and anti-Blackness among AAPIs stem from Asian Americans’ rocky road to finding their place in the broader struggle for racial justice in the United States. It doesn’t help that AAPIs are often portrayed as a uniform population. In reality, Asian American communities are vibrantly diverse, with different cultural values, levels of privilege, and policy priorities. Each AAPI community and individual brings a unique perspective to the table, something that must be acknowledged in order to set the stage for true progress and solidarity.

AAPIs are the fastest growing population in the United States. What choice Asian Americans make regarding their stance on issues of solidarity and anti-Blackness won’t just impact our communities, but the whole country. Ideally, we can reach a place where we can both effectively advocate for ourselves, and be strong allies to other communities fighting prejudice and inequity. This should be a goal not just for AAPIs, but all Americans. When we come together across racial, geographic, economic, gender, and political boundaries, that is when we can truly become a more perfect union. 

Sources:

Api4blacklivesmn, “On Police Abuse & Black Lives Matter: Talking Asian to Asian in North Minneapolis”, Rad Azns, 9 Feb. 2016, https://api4blacklivesmn.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/on-police-abuse-black-lives-matter-talking-asian-to-asian-in-north-minneapolis-2/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020.

@ChenueHer, “‘We come here to beg for justice and righteousness.’ Youa Vang Lee, Fong Lee’s mother, leads the “Hmong 4 Black Lives” march at the Minnesota state capitol Sunday.”, Twitter, 1 June 2020, 9:38am, https://twitter.com/ChenueHer/status/1267465590245031937. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

Dernbach, Becky Z., “A Tibetan scarf, a Khmer video, exploding the ‘model minority’ myth: how Minnesota’s Asian communities are reckoning George Floyd’s death”, Sahan Journal, 10 Aug. 2020, https://sahanjournal.com/race/asian-minnesotans-black-lives-matter-george-floyd/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

Fuchs, Chris, “Hmong family whose son was shot by white officer speaking out in solidarity”, NBC News, 2 June 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/hmong-family-whose-son-was-shot-white-officer-speaking-out-n1222281. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

López, Gustavo, Neil G. Ruiz, and Eileen Patten, “Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population”, Pew Research Center, 8 Sept. 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/08/key-facts-about-asian-americans/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

Westerman, Ashley, Noel King, and Matt Kwong, “For One Immigrant Community, George Floyd’s Death Isn’t Just About Black And White”, NPR, 4 June 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/06/04/868978380/for-one-immigrant-community-george-floyds-death-isn-t-just-about-black-and-white. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

Yam, Kimmy, “Officer who stood by as George Floyd died highlights complex Asian American, black relations”, NBC News, 1 June 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/officer-who-stood-george-floyd-died-asian-american-we-need-n1221311. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.