Week 9: Linnea Patterson A02

Linnea Patterson
28 May 2017
A02

Week 9: Solidarity Movements

This week I read Soya Jung's "Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans". Through taking ASA2 I have become aware of the nuanced position Asian Americans have in racial tension of black vs. white that plagues our country. While Asian Americans do suffer immensely under white supremacy, their hardships are often ignored because they do not directly affect White Americans: "Asian death is rendered invisible when it has no value to the power structure" (Jung 3). Although Asian Americans are not under direct threat of violence or death like Black Americans are in today's society, Asians have been brutalized for centuries by America, being "controlled, occupied, and threatened with erasure by outside forces" (Jung 3). The "han", or oppression induced anger or sorrow that Asian Americans experience, is just as real as the pain Black people must live with. Jung's call to Asian Americans to stand by minorities suffering from white supremacy, like Black people are right now, is a moving one. She highlights the importance of strength in numbers, and how change comes from people uniting in solidarity. My question is, to what extent do other racial minorities owe their support to each other's causes? Included is a group of Asian Americans participating in a Black Lives Matter protest, illustrating the importance of the unison of minorities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPiQD3V0b6Y. 

Works Cited

Jung, S. (2014, August 24). Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from https://www.racefiles.com/2014/08/20/why-ferguson-matters-to-asian-americans/

(2014, December 15). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPiQD3V0b6Y