By Sophia Stephens
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Black Americans Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson recently settled for $1 each from the city of Philadelphia to avoid taxpayer repercussions, and $200,000 for their charity of choice after their arrests at a Starbucks on April 12.
The conclusion of their case, however, happened to coincide with the ending of another case of racial discrimination against Black people, but further north in Canada. Emile Wickham and three friends, who are all Black, were ordered to pay upfront shortly after ordering their meals at Hong Shing, a popular Chinese restaurant in Toronto. Upon discovering that they were the only patrons ordered to pay up front, and that they were the only Black patrons in the restaurant, they pursued legal action.
On May 1, a judge ordered a payment of $10,000 to Wickham and his friends for racial discrimination.
In the wake of these high-profile incidents in North America, Black American and Asian American communities in Seattle are experiencing continued tensions on anti-Blackness and pan-African/Asian solidarity.
People from both communities in Seattle came forward to contribute their voices to an uneasy, but necessary conversation.
Shamay Thomas
Shamay Thomas, a nurse practitioner, described an incident where anti-Black attitudes emerged in her professional life.
“What happened was anti-Blackness in the form of microaggression, prejudice, and stereotyping. At a pediatric physician conference in Tacoma, I was the only Black person at [the] event and mentioned this to my colleague and friend who is a second generation Korean American. She said, ‘It’s probably because Asian parents push their kids very hard because they want them to succeed.’”
At a conference where most of the other people of color attendees were light-skinned Asians, the implication of her friend’s comment was immediately obvious to Thomas. She replied, “So you’re going to blame the underrepresented here at this conference… [and blame] Black parents [for] not pushing their kids hard enough to succeed. You’re blaming the victims,” Thomas said.
The friend immediately and profusely apologized, however, Thomas decided to not educate her further.
“I did not waste my time explaining the many, many ways that anti-Blackness is used to oppress and marginalize Blacks in every single aspect of American and Western culture,” said Thomas.
“For example, the school-prison pipeline or the Machiavellian blueprint that power structures use to ‘divide and conquer’ [people of color and] poor whites so we do not band together… I figure she can Google that sh*t,” she continued.
The consequences of this interaction left Thomas betrayed and hurt, which she addressed in an email to her friend later that same evening.
“She lost my trust that day,” said Thomas.
However, Thomas’ experience is not uncommon, nor are the attitudes behind them.
“It seems that the majority of anti-Black prejudice stems from white and Asian people,” said Yolanda Yang, who identifies as Taiwanese American. “It is being justified because of background. My family was raised with a distinct intolerance for Black people. They grew up learning slurs and stereotypes about Black people.”
She continued, “I am the first generation to be born in America. The rest of my family comes from China and Taiwan. My dad, who is Taiwanese, constantly degrades Black people whenever he sees one. Our old neighborhood had a few families of Black people. Whenever the power went out or a minor inconvenience occurred, he would blame ‘the Blacks’ for it. I have tried to call him out multiple times, but he simply ignores me and continues on.”
Yang’s struggles are not unique, but the responsibility of Asian and Asian American people to educate themselves and combat anti-Blackness is lacking in our communities.
“I would like them (Asian and Asian American people) to educate themselves on how the model minority myth is used to build wedges between Asians and Blacks and ‘prove’ that racism isn’t really a thing,” said Thomas. She also noted how the U.S. government had already paid reparations, although poorly distributed, to Japanese Americans, but has yet to do so for the African American and Black American diaspora.
However, there is a collective hesitation in Asian American communities that is preventing such sweeping solidarity.
Jay San
“To me, I do feel like Asian Americans, [especially] Filipino Americans, are one of the most selfish marginalized groups I’ve ever experienced,” said Jay San, who identifies as “Filipino first, American second.” He continued, “We’ve eaten up the idea [that] when our families migrated from Asia to the U.S., [we think] ‘if we can do it, then why can’t Black or brown people do it, too?’ We’ve eaten up the idea that we are the model minority and that we are the standards to how every other minority should act. [We have taken our oppression] and use it as an excuse to put away our allyship.”
The intersections of oppression and privilege in Asian American communities and experiences are tenfold, and efforts towards solidarity are complicated by prior generations of Asian and Asian American people and their prejudices of Black people and the Black community at large.
“The comments and microaggressions that continue throughout the Asian community seem to hinder any progress,” said Yang. “To me, it seems that the older generation is mainly prohibiting any allyship since they were raised with the opposite mindset.”
For Asian and Asian American people looking for an example of Black-Asian solidarity, Thomas cited The People’s Assembly, an organization headed by Thy Nguyen, Tacoma’s former 2015-2017 poet laureate.
“[This organization] is committed to fighting anti-Blackness and oppressive systems,” said Thomas.
The footsteps of those activists leave large responsibilities to fill for modern-day Asian and Asian American communities. “[They should be] fighting for us to have reparations when the very wealth of this country was built on the enslavement, torture, and rape of Blacks,” said Thomas.
For examples of such solidarity and allyship, all it takes is a look to our past: historical Asian figures who fought for Black liberation and civil rights, including activists Yuri Kochiyama, Grace Lee Boggs, and Richard Masato Aoki, who was an early member of the Black Panther Party.
“In solidarity, let’s work together. Use your proximity to power to help others stop these unfair systems,” said Thomas. “Speak up! Organize!”
Nate Miles
Nate Miles, vice president of government relations at the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical corporation, also said he often experiences discrimination as a Black man, and has also witnessed the consequences of anti-Blackness in Asian communities: an Asian friend of his was ostracized from the community when she married a Black man.
“It was frowned upon in the Asian community when you marry outside your race,” said Miles, and observed that the prejudice of older generations in the community carried harsher consequences than today’s generation and culture.
In his travels, Miles experienced linguistic microaggressions as Hawaii-based Asians switched from speaking English to Chinese and Japanese when they saw him.
“Everyone is entitled to equal opportunity, we [Black people] are just as talented,” said Miles. “Racism is alive and it impacts you economically. But [if you are Black], you don’t get the same opportunity. Other people get loans to buy a house even with little credit, but [Black people] can’t borrow with bad or little credit.”
Sophia can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
I unfortunately fell in love with a Chinese man Our relationship was good although we did struggle with occasional differences. I was never introduced to his family. He said he would be shunned by them . I do believe they did see my name on a letter and one photo and gave him hell. The women say they are afraid of black people and I saw a pic of black mammy figurines in their kitchens. He kept me a secret and me like a fool accepted it. I wanted to get married but I wasted 3 years. Never again will I be in an interracial relationship. It’s hard enough with the same race
It’s true that Asian parents push their kids to succeed — so hard that those kids are left with long-lasting trauma, shame over not being “good enough”, issues with socializing due to not being allowed to do things that aren’t homework or studying, etc. That’s, what seems to me, the reason Asians are so overrepresented in top-tier universities and high-paying technical fields. Your colleague should have clarified that Asian parents pushing their kids was 1. done to an extreme extent and 2. not necessarily a positive thing, but I can see how it came off as an implication that black or brown parents don’t do the same thing.
This was enlightening to read, I didn’t know that by remaining silent I was not only contributing to my own oppression but others as well. I will try to speak out again in the future..
Asians aren’t worth the effort. They cry about every little thing. If you don’t like it, go back to Asia. No one’s forcing your parasitic race to stay here. You all came here by choice.
Asians do NOT belong in the U.S. point blank period. They are not needed nor wanted here in the U.S. Black Americans made it possible for each and every “minority” group to attain rights that were not previously afforded to them. The nerve of these weired looking “humans” to come to the U.S. which is a black and white country, and then frown upon blacks! If these non-Americans i.e. the Asian doesn’t like black people then they can go back to Asia. PERIOD. They contribute nothing of worth to society by and large, and if you look at the entire span of the U.S. the most significant contributers have been black and white PERIOD. These immigrants are a unnecessary strain on the U.S , and need to return to where they are from. I will NEVER look at an Asian person and see an American. EVER.
Beautifully stated.
You can’t respond to hate with more hate. The article calls for education and conversation not more Division.
The white supremacist are most to blame.
Asians are said to have higher IQs. This is obviously false. People with above average intelligence can appreciate nuance. Theyres just dumb. Don’t blame whites for Yellow Rabies.
Asians are enemies of black people, that’s a fact. I will never have good intentions to Asians ever again after many bad experiences with them and whenever I get the chance I get even.
Kinda missed the whole point of this article buddy
Not really it’s HYON time. And I think you’re victim blaming. It’s not our fault that Asians believe stereotypes that suspected white supremacist put out about black people.
I say that you are correct, black people should build their own shop, banks and keep money in their own community as long as possible. I am a Vietnamese but I totally applaud what you said. Cheer.
This article is so on point! I am an African immigrant, moved here couple of years ago. I live in the bay area, where the Asian population is high. I am a nurse and work In a big, private hospital and my personal experience of racism 95% of the time is from Asian people. I am just so over the body gestures and the dirty looks, the sudden pretence not to speak English just to avoid conversing and the talking behind my back in their language, that I am just ready to move to any part of the states where I don’t have deal with this anymore! It took its toll finally because it is literally a day to day phenomenon. I can tolerate Asian patients because I can shift my mind to rather being sympathetic towards them as they are sick after all (I have had an older Asian lady who refused me to be her nurse! Yeah!), but my colleagues, can’t find excuse for them, especially the young generations. I feel like I am turning into a stereotypical and racist person myself because of them. Where I am from, you reciprocate the kindness and respect one gave you. I have turned bitter towards my Asian colleges and not even care to give a simple hello anymore because I don’t get that back. Sad!
Racism goes both ways. There are many African Americans who are equally racist based on publicly available information as well as my personal experience with a couple of bigoted individuals. However, My personal experience with an African classmate and a colleauge from British Guyana (African origin) was pleasant and something I appreciated/ continue to this day. Not all individuals are the same.
Define racism? I definitely don’t think blacks or Asians are racist. That characteristic is strictingly for white supremacist who are white. Now Asians are EXTREMELY anti black for sure.
I’m sorry but the door swings both ways beginning with bias against Asian Americans with respect to ivy league admissions and admitting African Americans and Latinos with lower scores and nebulous attributes like “likeability” and “leadership” all in the name of diversity. Also, the No.1 high school in the country which has a very high percentage of Asian students is accused of not having enough African American/ black students. So what happened to merit and ability? Also, let’s talk about the racist and dismissive rant against Priyanka Chopra by an African American writer no less or the rapper when accused of plagarism by Indian fans responds by saying “brown Twitter”. Hypocrisy abounds.
Quite hypocritical of you to make that statement. You asked how could you blame an entire group of people, yet went on to say “blacks” are so attacking. Did you not just go back and blame an entire group like you just cried about?
At the end of the day, you cannot blame an entire race for ones actions. Without focusing on a specific action by a specific individual, it makes this article racist in itself. As a white married to an asian, I feel the article is blaming my spouse for something she didn’t do. Why are blacks so attacking?
Quite hypocritical of you to make that statement. You asked how could you blame an entire group of people, yet went on to say “blacks” are so attacking. Did you not just go back and blame an entire group like you just cried about?
I found this article very informative. I enjoyed the read. Thank you.
It’s true that Asian parents push their kids to succeed — so hard that those kids are left with long-lasting trauma, shame over not being “good enough”, issues with socializing due to not being allowed to do things that aren’t homework or studying, etc. That’s, what seems to me, the reason Asians are so overrepresented in top-tier universities and high-paying technical fields. Your colleague should have clarified that Asian parents pushing their kids was 1. done to an extreme extent and 2. not necessarily a positive thing, but I can see how it came off as an implication that black or brown parents don’t do the same thing.
My bad. This was meant to be in reply to the article, not a reply to your comment.
This was a great article