Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
It can be hard to feel part of community when you can’t physically be in community. However, organizations are stepping up to provide opportunities to connect virtually. To celebrate the wealth of online events out there, and to make content from these events accessible to folks who may not be able to virtually attend, AAOP is recapping 1-3 online opportunities each month! You can see our past and future recaps at http://aaopmn.org/tag/virtual-event-recap/
CW for this article: Mentions of sexual violence, anti-Asian dicrimination and violence, and military violence.
CW for linked article about the US military actions in Okinawa: Graphic descriptions of sexual violence
On April 15, renowned journalist and organizer Helen Zia (she/her) spoke at a virtual event hosted by the Macalester College Department of Multicultural Life. Zia shared her knowledge around the untold stories of Asian American history, how anti-Asian hate has manifested in the US over the centuries, and how Asian Americans have powerfully mobilized to protect and uplift our communities.
Zia began her remarks by addressing the important context of her Minnesotan audience. “You are in the epicenter of where things are happening today” she said, acknowledging the heaviness and relentlessness of the trauma which has occurred in Minnesota, particularly over the past year and the past weeks. She then framed her talk by saying “What I’d like to talk about today [specifically] is Asian Americans. But also stressing how we are all linked together, and the solidarity we have and should strive for [cross-racially]”
In her presentation, Zia explored the ways that Asian Americans’ part in the history of the United States has been effectively erased from mainstream narratives. In reality, Asians have been part of the American story since the very beginning, playing an especially pivotal role as laborers that helped to literally build the US.
Unfortunately, just as Asians have always been a part of the American picture, so has anti-Asian hate. Many of the workers who gave so much to the United States faced xenophobic persecution and racist violence, challenges that continue to plague our AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) communities. Learning about the long-disregarded histories of our Asian American communities, in all their pride and pain, is an important step in taking control of our narratives.
Media portrayals of Asian Americans have also been historically stereotyped and harmful. One prominent example is the sexualization and fetishization of Asian American women. This particular trope was also exacerbated by the US military’s many conflicts and occupations in Asian countries, especially in the 20th century. The military has an infamous history of terrorizing international Asian communities with campaigns of “R&R” (standing for “rape and run”). One ongoing example is the numerous acts of sexual violence perpetrated by the US military in Okinawa, Japan.
Stereotypes, scape-goating, and long histories of anti-Asian violence domestically and abroad have contributed to creating the atmosphere our AAPI communities now exist in. We are in the midst of a startling and scary rise in anti-Asian attacks and violence, including the horrific murders in Atlanta.
Zia emphasized that while many of the forms of anti-Asian hate we are seeing currently are classified as microaggressions,
“Microaggression doesn’t mean a small racism…if they are microaggressions, that does not mean they are less important as an incident that could be racism. What it means is that it is part of the larger system of systemic racism and how it is baked into the system”
Zia sees parallels between our current circumstances and the aftermath of the 1982 racist murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit. Zia lived in Detroit at the time of Chin’s killing, and was part of the Asian American movement which grew in response, with Asians of all ethnicities uniting to demand safety and representation for our communities. Zia sees a similar opportunity for building solidarity and power as Asian Americans in the moment we are in now.
It is crucially important to seek solidarity not just within our Asian American communities, but cross-racially as well, particularly with Black communities. Asian American narratives have historically been distorted and weaponized by the forces of white supremacy, through the creation of the model minority myth most obviously, to serve as tools of anti-Blackness.
“We’ve come through a period, of decades of people trying to find ways to divide our communities, to pit us against each other.” Zia said. “My message to all of you is that we have to take this as a challenge to create new visions for all of us and America. We have to decolonize our own minds. We [have to realize] that we belong in a community together.”
By learning and reclaiming our histories, building solidarity within and without our AAPI communities, and seizing control of our narratives, Asian Americans can help build an America that isn’t just safer for AAPI folks, it is a better and fairer place for all our communities.
Sources:
Kai-Hwa Wang, Frances, “Who is Vincent Chin? The History and Relevance of a 1982 Killing”, NBC News, 15 Jun. 2017. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/who-vincent-chin-history-relevance-1982-killing-n771291. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.
Mitchell, Jon “U.S Marine Corps Sexual Violence on Okinawa”, The Asia-Pacific Journal, 1 Feb. 2018. https://apjjf.org/2018/03/Mitchell.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.
Photo Credit: Helen Zia, via https://helenzia.com/about/
Special thanks to Macalester College for allowing AAOP to attend and recap this event!
Learn more about Helen Zia and her work at https://helenzia.com/ and follow Zia on Instagram @helenziareal
