Asian American Solidarity Statements and Articles in Support of #blacklivesmatter

With the grand jury non-indictment of the police killings of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, Asian Americans across the country have been on the streets expressing our solidarity and having the deep and necessary conversations in our community. From San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles to Madison, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Providence and DC, Asian Americans have been showing up and busting up the “model minority,” which is used to maintain white supremacy, anti-blackness and capitalism. We need a Model Minority Mutiny. We compiled the statements and articles on Asian Americans in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter as a resource and tool for activists and organizers.

Thank you to Ellen Choy and Christine Cordero for the suggestion to do this and helping us compile this list. We’ll keep this updated as much as possible. Please send us any statements or resources that we have missed. We plan to keep this up-to-date as much as possible. Email us at: linda@cpasf.org

WHY #BLACKLIVESMATTER?

• A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza, 10/7/14
• A Q&A With Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of #BlackLivesMatter by Mychal Denzel Smith, The Nation, 3/24/15

STATEMENTS

• SEAFN: OPEN LETTER TO OUR SOUTHEAST ASIAN COMMUNITY ON BLACK SOLIDARITY, South East Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN), 12/3/2014
• CAAAV and DRUM: Solidarity with all Lives Lost to Police and Hate Violence, CAAAV and DRUM, 9/10/2014
• CAAAV:  CAAAV Statement to Asian and Asian American Communities on the murder of Akai Gurley by NYPD Officer Peter Liang, CAAAV, 12/12/2014
• Grassroots APIs Rising: Statement in Solidarity, Grassroots APIs Rising for Racial Justice, 7/19/2013
• #Asians4Black Lives: Statement on Oakland Police Department Action to End the War on Black People, 12/15/14
• CAA: My Thoughts on Ferguson, CAA, Vincent Pan, 11/25/2014
• APIA Writers For Ferguson: Asian-American Writers and Scholars Sign Open Letter of Support for Ferguson and Michael Brown’s Family, 11/28/2014
• API Equality LA: Justice for Michael Brown, 11/25/2014
• API Equality NC: For Justice and Liberation: In memory of Jennifer Laude and Mike Brown, 11/20/2014
• As[I]Am: Statement of Solidarity with Anti-Police Violence Movement, 12/9/2014
• ASPIRE LA: Justice Denied for Mike Brown and Family, 11/25/2014
• BayanUSA: From Ferguson to the Philippines: State Violence, Killings, Impunity Continue, BayanUSA, 12/10/2014
• CAPACD: National CAPACD Statement of Solidarity with Ferguson, CAPACD, 11/25/2014
• NAPAWF-Chicago: #BlackLivesMatter: We Stand with Ferguson, the Family of Mike Brown, and Our City’s Black Youth, NAPAWF, 8/25/2014
• NAPAWF: National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum stands with Michael Brown’s family and the community of Ferguson, NAPAWF, 11/25/2014
• AAAJ-ALC: No Indictment – Being Black Shouldn’t Be A Crime, AAAJ-ALC, 11/24/2014
• AAAJ-AAJC: Advancing Justice Press Statement: Grand Jury decision in Michael Brown shooting, AAAJ-AAJC, 11/24/2014
• AAAJ-APALC: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Condemns Grand Jury’s Failure to Bring Charges Against Darren Wilson in Michael Brown Shooting Death, AAAJ-APALC, 11/24/2014
• JACL: JACL Issues Statement on Ferguson Decision, JACL, 12/2/2014
• NAKASEC: Outraged. Black Lives Matter., NAKASEC, 11/24/2014
• NCAPA: AA & NHPI Organizations: Justice Denied in Ferguson, NCAPA, 11/24/2014
• NQAPIA: Statement on Grand Jury Decision Regarding The Shooting of Michael Brown, NQAPIA, 11/25/2014
• QSANN: A Week of Queer South Asian Rage, QSANN, 11/26/2014
• SAALT: Saddened by Grand Jury Decision: Emphasizes Need for DOJ to Reform Racial Profiling Guidance, SAALT, 11/25/2014
• SEARAC: Saddened, Outraged by Ferguson Decision, SEARAC, 11/26/2014
• WCAPSU: Statement of Support for Ferguson, WCAPSU, 11/27/2014

ARTICLES

• Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans, Changelab, Soya Jung, 8/20/2014
• The Racial Justice Movement Needs Model Minority Mutiny, Changelab, Soya Jung, 10/13/2014
• The Language of Anti-Racism, ChangeLab, Scot Nakagawa, 12/1/2014
• What Does a Model Minority Mutiny Demand?, ChangeLab, Soya Jung, 12/13/2014
• Ferguson’s Other Race Problem: Riots Damaged Asian-Owned Stores, Tim Mak, 8/20/2014
• Dispatch from Ferguson: Convenience Store Owners Talk Race, Colorlines, Deepa Iyer, 10/14/2014
• Asian Americans Show Solidarity, Support for Ferguson, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, NBC Online, 11/25/2014
• Why Ferguson Should Matter to Asian-Americans, Time Magazine, Jack Linshi, 11/26/14
• Black Bodies, Broken Worlds, CounterPunch, Vijay Prashad, 12/8/2014
• Eric Garner Case Resonates Among Asian Americans, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, NBC Online, 12/9/2014
• “Which side are you on?”: #Asians4BlackLives confronts anti-black prejudice in Asian communities, Julia Wong, Salon, 3/8/15
• This Lunar New Year, supporting #BlackLivesMatter is the Chinese thing to do, Kung Feng and Ellen Choy, SF Examiner, 3/9/15
• Asian activists want NYPD cop Peter Liang to be brought to justice in Akai Gurley’s death, Joseph Stepansky, New York Daily News, 3/16/15
• Asians for Black Lives: Chief Koval should be listening to Young, Gifted and Black Coalition, Asians for Black Lives (Madison), The Cap Times, 3/19/15
• I dream of Asian America #JusticeForAkaiGurley, Soya Jung, ChangeLab, 4/6/15
• You’re the Model Minority until You’re Not, David Shih, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 4/8/15
• When Being Chinese Is Not Enough: Peter Liang and the Future of Ethnic Solidarity, by Ellen Wu, Indiana University, Bloomington, 4/23/15

REFLECTIONS

• Ferguson Solidarity Protests: “No Justice No Peace” at Malls and Subways, Deepa Iyer, 12/1/2014
• Waking up to Ferguson, Jen Soriano, 12/3/2014
• Love in Protest, Taz Ahmed, 12/3/2014
• Especially in the Wake of Ferguson, It’s Time to Destroy Anti-Blackness in the Sikh Community, Mai Bhago, 12/3/2014
• Questions for Ferguson+Garner Verdicts, DRUM South Asian Organizing Center, November/December 2014 Newsletter
• On Solidarity, Amiee Suzara, 12/5/2014
• Practicing #Asians4BlackLives Solidarity: 5 Lessons from #shutdownOPD, Christine Cordero, Race Files, 12/20/14
• Showing Up for Black Lives Matter, Nadia Khastagir, Hyphen Magazine, 12/18/14
• Our Name is Rebel: #Asians4BlackLives Protest Police Violence, Nadia Khastagir, The Aerogram, 12/29/14

TUMBLRs/Facebook/Storify Pages

• UC Davis Asian Americans in Solidarity, 8/25/2014
• Asians Support #BlackLivesMatter, 12/7/2014
• #APIs4BlackLives, 12/12/2014
• #Asians4BlackLives, 12/15/2014
• #Asians4BlackLives #ShutDownOPD #EndtheWar, 12/15/2014

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

• Philippines: ILPS condemns racist murder of Michael Brown, supports mass protests in Ferguson, in USA and abroad, ILPS, 11/27/2014
• Toyko: #TOKYO4FERGUSON, 12/6/2014
• New Delhi: America’s police brutality protests have now reached New Delhi, Quartz – India, 12/6/2014
• Seoul: Black Lives Matter! From Seoul to Ferguson, 12/7/2014
• 27 Stunning Photos of #BlackLivesMatter Protests From Around the Globe, Mic, 12/7/2014

RESOURCES ON ALLYSHIP

• Dear White People, Jamala Rogers, 12/4/2014
• hey non black folks, Women of Color, In Solidarity, 11/26/2014
• Video Blogger Franchesca Ramsey Perfectly Explains How To Be An Ally, 12/5/2014
• 5 Ways to Amplify the Voices of Trans women, Cis women, Non-binary folks, and Trans men in the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, 12/5/2014
• #BlackLivesMatter: 5 Tips & 25 Questions for Nonprofit and Public Organizations, Laurin Mayeno, 12/23/14
• It Starts at Home: Confronting Anti-Blackness in South Asian Communities, Queer South Asian Network, 12/19/15
• 26 Ways to be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets, 1/7/14

Photo Credit: “Your Asian Wasn’t Quiet“