[This is a Virtual Ruby event. Nonmembers are welcome to join; please donate if you are able! This event will take place over Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89053460710?pwd=bitTcGp1NjVFcUhrdlJ4ZFZpYktPZz09]
How can Asian Americans be better allies to the black community, and work toward realizing a world free of white supremacy? Asian-American Rubies, join us for a reading and discussion group aimed at learning and growing together. Alongside our group discussions, we'll provide reading assignments and journaling prompts for individual thinking and reflection.
Cathy Park Hong writes, in her essay collection, Minor Feelings: “In 1968, students at UC Berkeley invented the term Asian American to inaugurate a new political identity. Radicalized by the black power movement and anti-colonial movement, the students invented that name as a refusal to apologize for being who they were. It’s hard to imagine that the origin of Asian America came from a radical place, because the moniker is now flattened and emptied of any blazing political rhetoric. But there was nothing before it. Asians either identified by their nationality or were called Oriental. The activist Chris Iijima said, “It was less a marker for what one was and more for what one believed.””
“Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.” ― Sara Ahmed
To begin, we'll plan to meet on June 18 and July 2; other meetings TBD. We'll be looking to a few different resources and texts, including the Asian American Racial Justice Packet, Ellie Yang’s “Anti-Racism for Asian Americans” document, and more.
Before our first meeting, please read:
"Asian Americans need to talk about anti-blackness in our communities" by Rachel Ramirez
"Tou Thao and the Myths of Asian American Solidarity" by Jay Caspian Kang
"At Least You're Not Black" by Elaine H. Kim
Ground rules for discussions:
Nothing in these conversations is to be repeated outside of them without express permission.
Listen deeply and respect other people’s realities/experiences even if they are not your own.
If you tend to dominate conversations, be aware of how much space you are taking up and be willing to step back. If you tend to be quieter, challenge yourself to share your ideas.
We are all learning and growing together. No one is an “expert.” It is okay to ask questions!
Be compassionate!