Read on Twitter
A Bangladeshi restaurant owner in Minneapolis lost his business in the fires. The family has decided to stand in solidarity with #GeorgeFloyd, instead of siding with the police state. This is how we do resistance - we count our losses as a collective, and fight for Black lives.
Many South Asian, Arab & Asian businesses have benefitted from anti-Black racism, by becoming well resourced establishments in communities that are underfunded & over-policed. To fight against the police state, we must see our losses in relationship to the poor and vulnerable.
A riot is the language of the unheard. Bangladeshis know how institutional violence, militarization, and the capitalist system has harmed many, and benefitted the few. From genocide by the Pakistani military to famines and climate change, none of us are free until we all are.
Support the @MNFreedomFund @reclaimtheblock @BlackVisionsMN @MPD_150 and their call to defund Minneapolis Police Department here: http://bit.ly/defundmpd
@principessadrit shared the owner of the restaurant, Ruhel Islam, does a lot of work for leftists and the community in Minneapolis. They were giving out free food, masks, and plants during the protests and also sheltering protesters. Solidarity is a muscle.
For folks asking how to support Gandhi Mahal, here's a link to donate: https://www.facebook.com/donate/624114434980787
The @nytimes just published a story on the family here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/dining/minnesota-restaurant-fire-protests.html?referringSource=articleShare
"So as mounted police fired tear gas into the crowd on Tuesday, the Islam family opened a room in their spacious restaurant to medics, who set up a makeshift field hospital. Ms. Islam said she saw at least 200 people come in and out on both Tuesday and Wednesday night."
"The tension in Mr. Islam’s adopted city reminds him of his childhood in Bangladesh, when he lived through a dictatorship. Two of his students were killed by the police, he said. “We grew up in a traumatic police state, so I am familiar with this type of situation,” he said."
I think this is one example that shouldn't be over-emphasized either. Vast majority of our communities are anti-Black & casteist, calling the police, supporting harmful policies & budgets that give more power to the police. These are small acts, not to erase the bigger picture
The business that called the police on #GeorgeFloyd was Arab and Muslim. Our communities are responsible for the police violence against Black people, and we must face the brutal realities of how our actions are causing harm.
