#APIsforBlackLives: Unpacking the interracial discourse on the Asian American Pacific Islander and Black communities

Abstract

In this paper we use the Ecological Metaphor to illustrate a complex and multilayered picture of the relationship between Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, exploring how different forces operate when two marginalized communities interact within an oppressive system. This frame highlights the impact of history and systems/community level adaptations that produced the current day interracial dynamics we see within the #BlackLivesMatter movement. More specifically, we shed light on a shared history of solidarity, the intentional puppeteering of AAPIs to uphold White supremacy and maintain a divide between racialized oppressed communities, and the internalized racialized images that inhibit community coalition building. Lastly, (1) we call to challenge the miseducation of our histories and one another’s communities, lest we continue to perpetuate this history, (2) to prioritize the preservation and healing of communities and bodies of color, especially Black Lives, and (3) to stand in solidarity.

Keywords

• Black
• African American
• Asian Americans
• Asian American Pacific Islanders
• Black Lives Matter
• Asian American Activism