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In this time of grief and as we process the ongoing violence against our Asian American community, know that we are not simply victims.
Let's remember (or come to learn), we ALSO have a very long history of resistance and fighting for our rights, our lives and our country. Don't believe that we've only been quiet. Don't believe that we've only kept our heads down. We've fought for justice from the very beginning.
During the Civil War, we fought to unite our country. Among many Asian Americans, Corporal Joseph Pierce came to the U.S. as a 10 year old immigrant from China and enlisted in the Army when he was 21 in 1862 - fighting major campaigns including Gettysburg.
https://www.pacificcitizen.org/civil-war-retold-and-remembered/
https://www.pacificcitizen.org/civil-war-retold-and-remembered/
When we built the railroads under horrific conditions, we launched the first and largest labor strike of its kind.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chang-transcontinental-railroad-anniversary-chinese-workers-20190510-story.html
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chang-transcontinental-railroad-anniversary-chinese-workers-20190510-story.html
In 1898, Wong Kim Ark fought his way to the Supreme Court to reaffirm our birthright citizenship. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/30/birthright-citizenship-trump-inspired-history-lesson-th-amendment/
When we were rounded up and incarcerated into camps during the 1940s, we didn't just stay silent.
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/center-shatters-myth-of-quiet-japanese-americans-imprisoned-in-camps
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/center-shatters-myth-of-quiet-japanese-americans-imprisoned-in-camps
And despite our families caged up behind barbed wire, we volunteered to fight for our country in World War II. Thousands of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team sacrificed their lives and became the most decorated unit in all of U.S. military history. https://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/military_units/442nd.php
In 1957, we fought for our voices to be heard in government with Dalip Singh Saund elected as the first Asian American to serve in Congress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalip_Singh_Saund
During the 1960s, Larry Itliong galvanized the labor rights movement in Central California joining forces with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to form the United Farm Workers union. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-it-is-important-know-story-filipino-american-larry-itliong-180972696/
We fought alongside our Black brothers and sisters during the Civil Rights movement with leaders like Yuri Kochiyama. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/06/02/318072652/japanese-american-activist-and-malcolm-x-ally-dies-at-93
And brought our community together and ushered in a new era of activism with the term Asian American. https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/
In 1982, Lily Chin rallied the community for justice after her son Vincent was viciously murdered -- not simply about the two White men that killed him but to indict a culture of systemic racism and hateful rhetoric. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/who-vincent-chin-history-relevance-1982-killing-n771291
During the 1990s, we created organizations to protect our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Asian_and_Pacific_Islander_diasporic_LGBT_history#1990s
Post 9/11, our community became scapegoats once again and we fought back for our humanity. https://www.colorlines.com/articles/our-own-words-reflections-15th-anniversary-911
These are only a handful of examples of our struggle. None of them were outright victories and some even lead to further tragedy. Yet they all pushed us forward to a more just world.
Progress and equality are rarely accomplished overnight but it always begins with someone, with a willingness to act and stand for what's right.
As Asian Americans, we are a group of infinite intersectional identities, we are a coalition of allies, we are a community bound by this struggle and a shared history and heritage as immigrants.
However you can, in whatever way you can... whether it's having conversations with your family, donating to community orgs, building solidarity with our Black, Brown & Indigenous allies, writing articles, showing up to protests or telling our stories... keep fighting.
