31 Anti-Racist To-Dos This Asian Heritage Month

These past couple years have pushed even more people into action. With the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, Ma’Khia Bryant, and so many other Black and Brown folks coupled with the rising violence against Asian folks and murders of 8 people in the Atlanta area, including 6 Asian women — all of these deaths have mobilized and energized a new community of people looking for ways to engage. 

For Asian Heritage Month, AAOP has compiled a quick and simple list of ways to get activated and stay engaged each day this month. Try doing something each day this month and bring it to the next month and the next. 

Educate Yourself

1. Read about why ethnic studies is so important and crucial — especially during this time.
2. Abolition sounds terrifying to many, but it shouldn’t be. Watch this 4 minute video explaining what defunding the police means.
3. How does Defund the Police and Abolish ICE intersect? 
4. The issue with stopping hate and the root of the issue
5. Why policing does not work
6. The problem with hate crime laws
7. The impact of the Census and redistricting on our communities
8. Pick up a copy of MPD150’s report on policing in Minneapolis and read it
9. Listen to podcasts like NPR’s CodeSwitch, GLAMMUP, and our own New Narratives
10. Read about the intersection of misogyny and racism and how it impacts us as Asian women

Contribute

11. Get registered to vote
12. Attend a Bystander Intervention Training
13. Donate to local organizations who are already doing this work
14. Get involved with mutual aid in your area 
15. Donate to individuals
16. Translate and/or interpret for those who don’t have access to English-only resources 
17. Donate to make sure others can also attend the Bystander Intervention Training
18. Buy from local shops and stores owned by BIPOC communities 
19. Support a local restaurant and order food (for yourself or others)
20. Donate to community-led media like Sahan Journal 
21. Challenge yourself to think critically about race, gender, and class 

Advocate

22. Register your friends and family to vote 
23. Sign up to volunteer with a local organization (like us!)
24. Get involved with organizations supporting incarcerated people like Women’s Prison Book Project and Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee
25. Get involved with organizations that support sex workers, migrant and immigrant workers, like Sex Workers Outreach Project
26. Keep in contact with your local representatives! This means keeping the Mayor of Minneapolis phone number handy. (Yes, add him to your contacts and keep calling him).
    1. Call them. Write to them. Demand more accessible voter policies. Demand ethnic studies in schools. Demand a ban on conversion therapy. 
27. Advocate for ethnic studies in your schools. If you have graduated, organize your peers and write to your alma mater (high school or college) to demand incorporating ethnic studies or similar coursework as a mandatory graduation requirement
28. Get out on the streets and protest
29. Have conversations with your peers, friends, family on these issues – be the one to bring up these issues and talk about them
30. Create a social media campaign to raise awareness on issues such as the Myanmar uprising and more
31. And, as always, keep on doing this work. Keep on educating yourself and others. Keep on contributing. Keep on advocating. Beyond this list. Beyond this month. Beyond this year. Make it ingrained in your life.