Theater Mu, along with our shared community, is outraged, saddened, and emboldened by the senseless murder of members of the Sikh community in Indianapolis. As anti-Asian violence continues across the United States, fueled by unchecked white supremacy and over-abundance of firearms, our resolve to uplift and empower the Asian community has never been stronger.
Read MoreWe are once again heartbroken and outraged at the relentless police violence that continues to occur against our Black communities in the Twin Cities. We are horrified by the murder of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, and we stand with his family and loved ones in their demand for empathy and justice.
Read MoreWe are heartbroken and horrified by the tragedy that occurred in Atlanta last night. We are grappling with feelings of grief, anger, and hopelessness—feelings further amplified against the backdrop of increased, vicious, and public acts of anti-Asian hate. To be clear, this attack was a hate crime and is another instance of violence against Asian Americans, and violence against women, that have occurred throughout the entire history of this country.
Read MoreThe reality is that there have been failures at all levels of government to address the needs of our communities at this time. Instead of excusing language and shifting blame onto everyday Asian Americans who are trying to survive this deadly pandemic, the Chairwoman should be working within her party to understand the harm that has directly impacted Asian Americans at this time.
Read MoreOur communities have benefited from Black freedom struggles that paved the way for our own fights for freedom and equal treatment in America. So, in this moment, it matters that we commit to Black liberation and raise our voices to say that #BlackLivesMatter. We emphatically call on our Asian communities to center George Floyd’s life and continue to amplify the demands from his family and community for justice.
Read MoreThroughout history, there have been attempts to pit Asian and Black communities against each other, a tactic that focuses our pain and hurt on one another, and away from systems of white supremacy. These efforts distract us from the real solution of building cross-racial solidarity to root out racist oppression.
Read MoreWe are reaching out in a moment where we see anti-Asian discrimination and violence on the rise. Amidst our current environment where every person has been impacted by COVID-19, the President, along with some of our nation’s leaders, began using language that stigmatized the Asian community. The history of branding Asian Americans as a diseased foreign group isn’t new to this country, but in this moment, it has led to increased racist and xenophobic acts targeting Asian communities across the country, including here in Minnesota.
Read MoreMore than 30 percent of Americans have witnessed someone blaming Asian people for the coronavirus pandemic. People with Asian ancestry keep finding their status as Americans questioned. "They fall very quickly from model minority to yellow peril. Asian Americans are considered perpetual foreigners. It doesn't matter how many generations you've been here. You're always asked, ‘Where do you come from?'
Read MoreThe pandemic is reminding us that our belonging is conditional. One moment we are Americans, the next we are all foreigners, who “brought” the virus here.
Read MoreWe are a set of Asian Minnesotan organizations serving our diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population across Minnesota. We stand together to condemn all acts of harassment, discrimination and bias against APIs, and call for more bold leadership and actions to protect all communities.
Read MoreLet’s be clear about this: Your fear does not justify your racism and xenophobia. Your jokes and performative panic about the coronavirus are not funny. They are deeply pointless and trivialize something that should be taken seriously. And they are creating an environment of fear, panic and disinformation that’s more dangerous than the disease itself.
Read MorePolitical forces have drastically shifted racial stereotypes of Asian Americans from a threat to whiteness to a model minority Commonly mistaken as a “positive” stereotype, the model minority myth upholds systemic white supremacy by dismissing historical and contemporary realities of both anti-Asian racism and racism against other POC.
Read MoreThe pain of Asians is not something to be disregarded or pushed down, even as Borstein, Gillis, and Yang all believed, at some point and in their own way, that the aggrieved should just try harder. It’s not clear why this expectation consistently falls on Asians. None of us think combatting a bad comedian is the first priority of forging a path toward collective liberation; we’re just trying to say that it sucks. It’s that simple.
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