Dear John,
I’m excited (and nervous!) to step into the role of author for this newsletter. I have big shoes to fill. LyLy engages with the world with such clarity, kindness, and generosity. I’m sure you learned this about her too, as she shared herself and her work in these weekly emails.
It seems fitting that what I want to share with you today was first brought to me by LyLy. Early last month, she shared this article with me. It resonated; after a lifetime of racial gaslighting, I struggle with the questions Asian Americans have wrestled with since white supremacy has been used to divide us from our Black, Brown, and Indigenous siblings: Is what I’m experiencing really bad enough to say anything? If I do speak up, will anyone listen?
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Even as I knew that the racialized violence against Asian Americans was nothing new, and that this violence is frequently enacted by the state, I still worried that speaking to my pain and the pain of my loved ones would distract from other issues.
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I want everyone to be talking about the Line 3 pipeline and taking action to stop it. I want outrage over continued police violence at encampments, and support for our unhoused community members. And as we experience the trauma of Derek Chauvin’s trial, I want us to stand up against the systems that are structured to wield the kind of violence that took George Floyd’s life – and work towards meaningful justice by dismantling them.
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The article LyLy shared helped me understand that speaking about my experiences isn’t a distraction – it gives voice to our shared oppression under white supremacy. It helps us stand together to fight against it.
After eight people – six of them Asian women – were murdered in Atlanta in March, I worried that the media would distort the imperial, racialized violence that has always been a reality for Asians here and abroad into a blip, or a random crime wave. I watched as my community’s pain was co-opted into hate crime legislation calling for more policing, more surveillance, and more criminalization.
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I've been thinking about the kinds of solidarity and care that create holistic community safety beyond policing. While I know that creating robust systems of public safety will take incredible work and (re)imagination, I’m grateful and excited for my Minneapolis community, because we have a clear place to start together: the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign.
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The Minneapolis Police Department serves and protects white supremacy. As I hold space for my own grief, the grief of my AAPI loved ones, and the grief of Black community members, I feel clear about my responsibility to create a better future that keeps all of us safe. I signed the Yes 4 Minneapolis people’s petition because we have the right to create a community safety system that serves and protects the people.
Our priority signature deadline was yesterday, but community members will have a final opportunity to sign the petition at the People’s Power Love Fest, this Sunday, April 4th at George Floyd Square. Join us there for a day of community celebration, action, and solidarity.
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All the best,
Jessie
Paid for by TakeAction Minnesota
TakeAction Minnesota
705 Raymond Ave Ste 100
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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