Write Back, Fight Back – essays from Reappropriate.com
Posted Aug. 9, 2018.
“Write Back, Fight Back” is a weekly series of thought-provoking essays by Asian American and South Asian writers and activists at the Reappropriate.com, a blog founded by writer Jenn Fang. In her introduction to the series, she writes, “We – Asian American writers, thought leaders, and scholars -know that the political narrative for our communities goes deeper. We remember the history of how white supremacists chased out South Asian paper mill workers in Birmingham and the past and present gentrification of Chinatowns across the country. We know how colonial thoughts in the homeland contribute to colorism, assimilationsim and good immigrant narratives, nad how all that is tied to White Supremacy. Given the critical moment in our history – a few years after #BlackLivesMatter and a year after the Muslim ban – we ask: What is the Asian American story on White Supremacy? What are the stories that need to be told to go deeper on this topic?”
Three articles that I’d recommend for you are the following by Scott Kurashige, OiYan Poon and Taz Ahmed. Each of them has a very personal style of writing that I find very engaging as a reader.
Scott Kurashige’s article reminds us of the powerful impact people and their ideas about life can transform our life trajectory. Both Grace Lee Boggs and Yuri Kochiyama are no longer with us, but their words will continue to guide and inspire us.
OiYan Poon, an assistant professor of higher education leadership and Director of the Center for Racial Justice in Education and Research at Colorado State University, shares how her upbringing in a working-class family in Boston Chinatown shaped her perspectives on affirmative action. And from that perspective, she takes on the anti-affirmative action forces that have arisen in the Chinese American community.
Taz Ahmed’s article, “The Other Asian,” takes us on a journey through South Asian American history as it became revealed to her via study and interaction with other activists. I’ll remember her words, “We are not the perpetual other, and we’ve always belonged.” Take that Donald Trump.
Please visit Reappropriate.com to read the entire series of essays. This initiative is co-sponsored by 18 Million Rising, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Reappropriate.
The picture for this story on the home page is from Sam Kirk’s painting, “Yell Loudly,” which is on display at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, IL.
Posted Aug. 9, 2018.