As an Asian, why should we educate ourselves through #blacklivesmatter?

By: Selina Liu

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As an Asian, why should we educate ourselves through #blacklivesmatter?

Brief Background
Most Americans have known that a recent tragic has happened in the United States on May 25, 2020- Derek Chauvin, one of four white police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suspects that George Floyd, an innocent black man, was passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store in Minneapolis. The police decided to press his knees on Floyd for more than eight minutes, handcuffed and strained. In the last three minutes, he mentioned multiple times that “he couldn’t breathe,” but none of the police officers tries to stop Chauvin’s action until the emergency medical technicians came. 

As the voices of protest rise and the argument between different beliefs heat up on social media, one concept has been in my mind- racism, xenophobia, colorism, and supremacy. Seeing offensive words about African Americans while knowing a definition of it will neither make anyone’s life better nor will it make you more superior. It does not make you cool or help you to grow as an individual. The foundation of racism is based on the generalization of stereotypes and assumptions passing until our life today. The reason why we prioritize why black lives matter instead of all lives matter is because of the situation we are facing today, because of racism, because of all the incident that has happened to African Americans, and because of racism. Without giving equal respect to African Americans and assume that they are the cause of the corrupting society would not make the world a better place. 

Why is it #blacklivesmatter instead of #alllivesmatter?
Two concepts have been viral on social media platforms- #alllivesmatter versus #blacklivesmatter. Yes! All lives matter, but this saying only deludes the fact that you want to move on from this topic and would rather spend your time on your own things. We prioritize black lives because this issue has been our daily life, and people are normalizing it. Slowly, people consider violence on African Americans as normal. However, lives are lives, so we should not normalize the innocent death happening in the black community. Everyone matters, but for now, black lives have to matter first in order to promote to the solution of all lives matter.

Why should I be educating myself as an Asian?
As an Asian, I have also experienced racism. Because of race, people assumed my English skills were “really bad” without even knowing that I could write a ten-page essay without the assistance of translators. Although I have to admit English is not my native language, the rage of being looked down upon or laughed at because of race frustrates me. However, I did not have to fear about my life being taken away because of my race. This is a privilege, my privilege, and I am grateful for it. Imagine Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbiry, Trayvon Martin, Kimani Gray, Natasha McKenna, Freddie Gray, and all the innocent black lives that may have to fear incidents happen before seeing the next sunrise. They have to be ready to be called all the offensive names while no one may protect them. 
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Education is an act to pay forward the respect to not only the lost lives that have gone but also the living ones that are still fighting. It only takes us a few minutes in our day to pay attention, and it could influence our life and turn the history around. As one branch of the minority, be willing to listen and to learn; it doesn’t cause you any harm to let your surrounding African Americans that you support them. Right now, they need our support for a change that should have done a long time ago, and it is scary to be in that position- protesting for rights that they should have while risking their lives. Our support through actions will help them, significantly. EVERY voice counts!

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Below are the resources for educations, petitions, and bail funds. Use your voice and unite together. 
https://linktr.ee/transnormativity - Bail Funds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM - Stream this video with advertisements to donate for FREE to the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fblacklivesmatters.carrd.co%2F%23petitions&event=video_description&v=Y4QUeHt_2Kg&redir_token=FFhA-kFcOI8h8hHnqm3_lJAv09F8MTU5MTYxMzYyMEAxNTkxNTI3MjIw - Petitions to sign.
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fblacklivesmatters.carrd.co%2F%23protesters&event=video_description&v=Y4QUeHt_2Kg&redir_token=FFhA-kFcOI8h8hHnqm3_lJAv09F8MTU5MTYxMzYyMEAxNTkxNTI3MjIw - protestors’ notifications
Resource provided: Nicole Rafiee (Youtube)