05/30/2020
May 30th, 2020
Southeast Asian American Student Association (SEAASA) mourns the recent murder of George Floyd and the many other unjust murders of Black Americans. We are writing this statement to bring awareness to the recent events regarding unchecked, institutionalized racism, and police brutality that the U.S. continues to ignore. It is important to our organization that we encourage Asian-Black solidarity within our community and hold ourselves accountable by working to better ourselves.
As a part of the POC community and a minority group, we understand the detrimental effects of discrimination and how it feels to be discriminated against, but we need to recognize our privilege of being Asians in America and acknowledge that our burden to bear is less than our black counterparts. Asian Americans do not fear being killed by police. Asian Americans do not fear being racially profiled. Asian Americans are not accused of being “thugs” the same way Black Americans are. The model minority myth was created to downplay the impact of racism and oppression on black and brown communities in America and we must combat this by admitting to our privileges and using our voices as allies for the Black community at this time.
As an Asian-centered organization, we must target and continue to address the rampant anti-black racism that surrounds us and is perpetuated by Asian American communities. Activism begins at home through our personal actions, and we can begin by educating our families and friends. We encourage you to start a dialogue and inform others around you about these issues. Ignorance is extremely prevalent in our community and through simple actions such as calling out fellow Asians for saying racial slurs (such as the n-word) and/or appropriating black culture, we exhibit our support for the movement. We must not be compliant to systematic racism and actively work to combat the institutions that continue to fail the Black community. Your silence shows your complacency, so speak up and let your voice be heard. If you decide to attend any protests, be safe: protect your identity, wear a mask, and know your rights.
With this situation in mind, SEAASA has decided to donate directly to the movement. Links to educational resources, petitions you can sign, and places to donate to will be available on our Linktree.
We are descendants of a very critical piece of legislation in the 1960s that allowed a lot of Asians to immigrate to America, so we were - and are - very huge beneficiaries of civil rights legislation that Black America fought for. Just as how Black America fought for our civil rights, we must fight for theirs.
Links:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
on Instagram
Educational resources:
https://www.hrc.org/resources/being-african-american-lgbtq-an-introduction
https://oyc.yale.edu/african-american-studies/afam-162
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0Bz011IF2Pu9TUWIxVWxybGJ1Ync
https://twitter.com/danitycafe/status/1266063302335115266
