Staying silent in times of injustice is privilege

I have been focusing my antiracism efforts on Black Lives Matter and wasn’t explicitly including Asian racism. I know that a lot of you might have realized that, too, in light of last week’s shootings in Georgia.

I’m writing to you today to reiterate my commitment to antiracism and dismantling White Supremacy. It is important to me as a white woman and business owner, who is committed to dismantling white supremacy, that I share this with you.

I haven’t spoken up yet (besides sharing stories on IG) because I wanted to get clearer on what I am personally doing to stop Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate and continue my personal anti-racism work.

A few things I have done, that you might be interested in, too.

1. Take a moment of silence to honor people who have been senselessly killed.

2. Learn

   • Podcasts

     • The Daily, “A Murderous Rampage in Georgia,” included a lot of history about Asian Americans in the United States. This really stood out for me as to why the shootings last week weren’t immediately classified as hate crimes: “Because there are not widely recognized symbols of hate that people immediately associate with Asian-Americans, for instance, the way a noose or a swastika can. When we see that, everybody recognizes that for what it is. They know the history, and there’s an immediate public outrage with these things. I think it ties into the history of Asian-Americans in this country. It’s a lot less clear cut in that sense, and that makes the search for motive in a lot of these attacks particularly confusing.”

     • In the Thick, “Words Matter”

     • “A Life Worthy of our Breath” with Ocean Vuong - On Being with Krista Tippet

   • Read

     • Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

     • Me & White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

   • IG to follow: @michellekimkim + @nickcho_/

   • Join the Ally Nudge and turn your BLM support into action + follow @changecadet on Instagram

3. Support local Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses.

4. Donate. I donated to Red Canary Song.

   • “We are the only grassroots Chinese massage parlor worker coalition in the U.S. There are over 9000 workplaces like these across the country with no political representation, or access to labor rights or collective organizing. Anti-trafficking NGO’s that claim to speak for migrants in sex trades promote increased policing and immigration control, which harms rather than helps migrant sex workers.”

We can only stop racism by first looking internally and then affecting change in the outside world with our choices, our finances, and our privilege.

Please reach out if you are interested in doing more, or beginning, antiracism work or if you need additional resources or tools.

 Love,

Nic