Solidarity between Asians and African Americans and Indigenous Americans and Asians seems like an inevitable occurrence. What these three groups have in common is that they are all considered minorities in U.S. They face discrimination in different ways and there coming together to support each other would form a much stronger force, compared to grappling with discrimination as separate entities. However, for this solidarity to bear fruits, there are several conditions and practices that need to be fulfilled.
The Asians need to acknowledge the fact that ‘divide and rule’ tactics are used to prevent solidarity. It is obvious that Asians are not treated like that of Blacks and Native Americans. They are perceived as ‘preferred minorities’ therefore securing them a much higher social status in the society. However, these tactics isolate minority groups because Asians nonetheless face discrimination. Ang (2015) narrates his father’s experience whereby he was told by a police officer to go back to his country. Ang responded to this by telling that if he were black, he would have been dead. Clearly, discrimination experiences differ in manner and severity. There can never be justified rightful discrimination and solidarity between the three groups is important.
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There is a need for active participation in demonstrating against oppressive actions by different entities. When Blacks are demonstrating against the killing of one of them, Asians should join in and strengthen the force. Besides, when Native Americans sue the court for violating their Dakota land, Asians should help by whatever means they can. Active participation involves many actions ranging from social media activism to marching in the streets. They can also sign petitions that compel leaders to take actions (Reappropriate, 2016, n.p.). Active participation is powerful unlike showing silent support. They cannot prove that they are one unless they illustrate it.
Lastly, solidarity can be created by using accrued positions to help voice and condemn the injustices. In 2014, this was demonstrated by a Taiwanese American writer for the Hyphen magazine when he expressed deep regrets on behalf of Asians for not joining hands with blacks. The media is a very powerful tool and so are other institutions like the judiciary, parliament and the police force. Asians holding positions in these institutions can be instrumental in the fight against discrimination if only they used their positions to speak up (Pan, 2016, n.p.).
References
Ang A. (2015) “Asian Americans Benefit from Black Struggle, and we Need to Start Shouldering the Burden” BGD Blog. Retrieved from http://www.bgdblog.org/2015/07/black-struggle-asian-americans-and-anti-blackness/
Pan, J (2016), “Beyond the Model Minority Myth.” Jacobin Mag. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/chua-changelab-nakagawa-model-minority/
Reappropriate (2016) “Asian Americans we cannot be Silent on the Dakota Access Pipeline/ #NoDAPL” Retrieved from http://reappropriate.co/2016/09/asian-americans-we-cannot-be-silent-on-the-dakota-access-pipeline-nodapl/
