The international Black Lives Matter protests have been ongoing for months. The killing of George Floyd has revealed the country’s legacy of slavery and has exposed the world’s ingrained displays of colorism and systemic racism towards African Americans.
In East Asia, colorism is a seldom discussed issue, and the ideology of anti-blackness continues to infiltrate into many societies. We are often told to avoid getting darker under the sunlight and making friends with people of Black descent.
My personal experience growing up in a society with some ideology of anti-blackness compelled me to search for an answer: How can I help build the missing connection between Asians and the African American community? Recently, with the significant increase of hate crimes against Asians due to the global pandemic COVID-19, has seemingly intertwined itself with the prejudice towards African Americans. The matter of unifying these communities has become more urgent in dealing with racism.
This portrait project features some Asian protestors, along with their reasons for supporting the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. Twenty-four-year-old Kai says that being part of the protests provides him an opportunity to examine his own biases towards African Americans. Matt Chan expresses that “As Martin Luther King Jr. said that ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’, so it is important to show our support as a member of the Asian community”. Chinese American, Jamie Wan, says “Black Americans have been fighting for civil rights for not just themselves but for everyone in this country, we benefit from everything that they have done” and Elissa Trieu emphasizes that “Me and a lot of my brothers and cousins have been trying to start conversations from home to emphasize the importance of having a political voice”. These testimonials provide powerful messages that are increasing the bond between these two communities and reveal that younger Asian generations are waking up from their previous generations’ deeply rooted stereotypes.
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Washington, D.C. resident Sara gets up at eight in the morning and puts up signs on the security fence surrounding the White House. She makes a sign which says, “Racism is a pandemic too”, as a response to both the ongoing series of protests against the killing of George Floyd and hate crimes towards Asians for being blamed for the spread of coronavirus. “I was never protesting until the protesters were forced to leave,” Sara says, “That to me is the First Amendment right to be heard.”
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Tamara (left), 39, comes to the protests with her friend Preethy (right) and their Vietnamese American friend who is not willing to identify herself. “As an immigrant, we all face some levels of discrimination, but I don’t think it would ever come up to the level of racism that Black people face,” Preethy says, “It is important for us to stand up for that as part of the community and a lot of legal reform is needed right now.” Tamara expresses her concern that the killing of George Floyd could have happened to her brother and uncle. “It meant a lot to me my friends are supportive and invite me out,” Tamara says, “As an African-American woman, it is really nice to have the support of people who are not Black, it warms my heart to have them support me.”
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Intensive Care Unit nurse and a resident of Northern Virginia, Vivian Dang, 28, has been part of the protests for eight to 12 hours every day. She has seen both sides of racism with the COVID-19 towards Asian Americans and the killing of George Floyd. It is difficult for her to see the country still battling with racism in 2020 when she listens to speeches by protestors at the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech decades ago. “A big part of me just wants everyone to be treated equally and have equal access to health care,” Vivian says.
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Chinese international students, Florence Lin (left) and Chengyu (Francis) Fu, pose for a portrait in front of the White House as the protests are going on. “As a student and younger generation in this society, I hope I can advance my voice in this kind of movement,” Florence says. As a Chinese citizen, Florence barely saw protests in her home country and expressed frustration on the prejudice in China towards the Black people. “It is very crucial for us as ‘missionaries’ from China to show the image of Chinese supporting minorities,” Florence adds, “If more and more back in China can see our actions and hear our support for anti white supremacy movements, people may fight for the injustice together.” Francis thinks that international students are minorities themselves and he feels compelled to fight against the white supremacy within the international community and with the Black community.
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Maryland couple Eugene Ohm and Eun Kyung An participate in the protests with their three sons, Robinson Ohm, 13; Wesley Ohm 10; Austin Ohm, 5; and the couple’s 22-year-old nephew Terrance Ohm. Eugene Ohm has been a public defender for 20 years and believes that the criminal justice system serves as the frontline for the civil right movements. “It is important for the black community to know that we support them,” Eugene says, “It is important for our children to know this is something that needs to be changed.” Eugene also emphasizes that it is embarrassing his parents immigrated to a country that is supposed to be different and he is going to do everything he can to make rights equal for everybody. Eun Kyung An has been living in the country for 16 years, “We are so mad, that is why we are here.”
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Jack Lee, 28, is from Chilesburg, Virginia. “We Asians are causing racism in a way, a lot of older generations say it without realizing what they are saying,” Jack says, “Our job as the newer generation is to teach our parents what is actually right, even if it is just a joke, we should correct it.”
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Katherine (left) and her friend are both students in Washington, D.C. “Frankly, it doesn’t make any difference as an Asian American, everyone should stand for equality,” Katherine says, “I think everyone should stand up for this, it is not right with what is happening.” Katherine says she is here to support the movement, her Black friends and their families.
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Chinese American Li Chen is originally from New York City and now resides in Washington, D.C. “In general as a human being, when you see peaceful rights to express your feelings are confronted by such violence, it is just infuriating,” Li says, “It is important for people to show that we are not happy.”
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Friends 24-year-old Kai and 23-year-old Lorenzo show solidarity for their “Black brothers and sisters”. “When I saw the video of George Floyd, that was the last straw for me,” Kai says. Kai emphasizes there is a lot of anti-blackness in the Asian culture. He never lived in a city with Black people as the majority of the population, so being part of the protests has been an opportunity for him to examine his own biases, “The more of us that can come out here from the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community to show that we are not going to carry on these biases we grew up with, the more comfortable our community will be in standing up.” Lorenzo says, “Now, especially living in the nation’s capital, being so close to the political leaders in the States, it is important to stand up for American citizen rights.”
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Twenty-four-year-old Bengali American, Regat Aksa, and 26-year-old Vietnamese American, Travis Nguyen, make their own signs for the protests. “A lot of reasons why our parents and we are here is because of the civil rights movement, and everything the Black community has done for us,” Travis says, “Supporting Black lives means supporting our family and the community at large here.”
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Danny Lloyd, 37, was adopted from South Korea when he was 7 months old. “All my life I have been dealing with all kinds of racism,” Danny says, “Not being white is different and it is exhausting to sit by. I am over it.”
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Couple Matt Chan, 28, and Elissa Trieu, 28, show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter protests. “It is very important for the Black community to know that they are not in this fight alone,” Matt says, “As Martin Luther King Jr. said that ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’, so it is important to show our support as a member of the Asian community. “As a first-generation Asian American, with a lot of immigrants who come over, they don’t necessarily show their sympathy for a lot of the political movements because they always try to keep their heads down,” Elissa says, “Me and a lot of my brothers and cousins have been trying to start conversations from home to emphasize the importance of having a political voice.”
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First-generation Vietnamese American, Tina Trinh, 27, stresses the urgency of fixing the justice system on her sign. She says that it is not fair to ignore racism because we are in the same community with African Americans. Tina had a conversation with her parents, who she believes hold anti-blackness perspectives. “I tried to explain to my parents why we are supporting this movement, little by little, they slowly are understanding and it is a step towards something greater,” Tina says.
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Chantu Chea, 28, is a resident of Washington, D.C. “I think it is very important for all people to speak out because it is a human rights issue,” Chantu says, “If we allow this to happen to one group of people, it is going to happen over and over again to other minorities.” Though people have different ways addressing social justice issues, Chantu urges the importance of Asians educating their own families. “My family might not realize some of the history of Black culture,” Chantu says, “But if we don’t learn from the past, then it will repeat again.”
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Christine Wang, 25, is a Korean American growing up in Maryland. She acknowledges her privilege as an Asian. “With COVID, we have a taste of racism and xenophobia from a lot of people and everyone is saying that it is hard to go outside,” Christine says, “But Black people have to live everyday of their life like that.” She also stresses the fact that people respect and enjoy K-pop, which originated from African American culture, and the respect should be extended to African Americans.
Shuran Huang (黃舒然)'s Website
Originally from China, Shuran Huang (she/her) is a photographer who currently based in Washington, D.C. Shuran’s work focuses on memory, family, and heritage through moments of intimacy, reflecting on the missing connections in her childhood.