Amid the #COVID19 crisis, we must call out anti-Blackness in our communities. Asian Americans are being used as scapegoats for the #coronavirus and experiencing racial profiling, harassment, discrimination, and violence.

At the same time, we can’t ignore the anti-Black responses of many in our communities, who are generalizing the perpetrators of violence based on a couple of viral videos, nor should we strengthen policing + prison frameworks in response to hate crimes.

Let’s be clear: the real perpetrator of violence is white supremacy. We must condemn the rising trend of anti-Asian hate crimes and anti-Black racism in our communities & American institutions. Both are white supremacist tools used to pit our communities against each other.

Acknowledging and combating anti-Blackness within Asian communities: a thread!

In the 1960s, The New York Times reported that Asian Americans, in particular Japanese Americans, are now the “model minority”: thanks to our strong work ethic and family values, we have overcome marginalization and succeeded because of our strong work ethic and family values.

The model minority myth is problematic for many reasons. (1) It portrays Asian Americans as smart & successful, but also silent & problem-free.

(2) It perpetuates the notion that the Asian American community is homogenous and marginalizes those who don’t fit the mold.

(3) Finally, it pits Asian Americans against “problem minorities,” namely Black and brown communities of color, obscuring structural racism and upholding white supremacy.

Our history books neglect to mention it, but the US nation-state was founded on stolen Indigenous land and built using stolen Black labor. Anti-Blackness is reflected in the interpersonal interactions/relationships, culture, history, institutions of Asian American communities.

And we’re going to start with some HISTORY: Vying for citizenship, Asian Americans distanced themselves from Blackness to claim whiteness (see: Takao Ozawa v. US and US v. Bhagat Singh Thind).

MEDIA: Asians, especially East Asians, profit from Black culture while still being anti-Black, whether that’s through cultural appropriation or the performance of Black tropes (see: Awkwafina, Liza Koshy, Lilly Singh aka “Superwoman,” Rich Brain aka Rich Chigga, & Jeremy Lin).

As soon as they achieve success in (white) mainstream media, Asian American content creators and celebrities leave their Black personalities and cultural appropriation in their past. (East) Asian media representation is not enough.

RESENTMENT TOWARD PRO-BLACK PROGRESS: Bet you’ve heard Asian folks around you complain about where is **our** own Black Panther, right? Or complaints about why don’t **our** lives matter?

Meanwhile, we’re here thanks to Black activists who put their bodies on the line to fight for our collective liberation. By removing racist quotas, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 has allowed our communities to more easily (but still with difficulty) come to the US.

ANTI-BLACK VIOLENCE: In 2014, Chinese American NYPD officer Peter Liang fatally shot Akai Gurley, a 28-year-old unarmed Black man. His conviction sparked pro-Liang protests organized by Asian Americans across the country.

Daniel Holtzclaw, a multiracial Asian OKCPD officer who raped more than a dozen poor Black women from 2013-2014, is another well-known example of Asian Americans directly involved in state violence against Black people.

Asian-owned businesses often set up shop in Black neighborhoods and profit from Black patronage, while perpetuating anti-Blackness through poor treatment, racially profiling, and even violence (see: murder of Latasha Harlins, New Apple Red Nails, Family Red Apple).

Here’s how we can challenge anti-Blackness within our communities. (1) Address how white supremacy has historically pitted communities of color against one another and people have experienced real harm as a result.

(2) Acknowledge how the category “people of color” can hide the specific ways in which non-Black communities of color perpetuate anti-Blackness while erasing the specific racial violence experienced by Black folks, including police brutality and mass incarceration.

(3) Take risks with your own family, friends, and community. Black folks have always spoken up for us and even now are condemning anti-Asian violence. We need to do the same and more.

Start with the people you know and have courageous conversations by meeting them where they are and talking in ways you know they will respond. There’s no one way to have these conversations, but feel free to use the info from this thread as a starting point.

(4) Support Black-owned businesses, Black artists & activists, Black-led orgs/campaigns/movements. Build relationships & ensure they're leading the fight. Here are some examples: @splendidrainco, @AssataDaughters, @radfagg, @BlackWomensRJ, @UndocuBlack, @ForThePeopleChi

(5) Center the voices of Black folks. Show up for others as much as you want them to show up for you. This includes attending gatherings and/or events, addressing anti-Blackness when you witness it then and there, listening/trusting to Black femmes, & asking how you can support.

(6) Call for prison abolition. This article from @truthout does a great job in explaining why Asian Americans need to build toward the abolition of the prison-industrial complex—and this is work many organizers are already doing. https://truthout.org/articles/a-growing-asian-american-movement-calls-for-prison-abolition/