Asian-Americans join in support of protests after George Floyd's death
Asian-American communities in the United States have joined in support of the widespread protests after a black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota died in police custody last week.
George Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The policeman was later arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The Coalition of Asian American Leaders in an open letter on Friday called for unity and solidarity in the face of violence.
"Throughout history, there have been attempts to pit Asian and Black communities against each other, a tactic that encourages us to turn on each other rather than tackle our common oppression: the systems of white supremacy. These efforts distract us from the real solution of building cross-racial solidarity to root out racist oppression," according to the statement.
"While Asian communities have been rewarded for our assimilation into whiteness with the lie of the 'model minority' myth, it is at times like this crisis that we should remember that our status is always conditional and subject to being taken away by xenophobia," said the coalition in the statement, which called for some 60 ethnic minority groups including Asian American Federation and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans to work together to battle racial discrimination across the country.
"As immigrants and refugees to the US, our families may not always understand this history, but we inherited its legacy," the coalition said. "So, in this moment, it matters that we commit to Black liberation and raise our voices to say that #BlackLivesMatter."
The details leading up to the death of Floyd, who was suspected of using a counterfeit US$20 bill to purchase cigarettes, were caught on camera and immediately triggered protests in Minneapolis and then spread throughout the country and world.
The statement by the Coalition of Asian American Leaders also pointed out that "we also cannot ignore the role of officer Tou Thao who stood watch as George Floyd was dying".
"To see someone who looks like us behave as a bystander to Black death is devastating and painful. This is yet another reason that we must recognise our silence in the face of anti-Black racism, and commit to the ongoing work to dismantle anti-Blackness," the statement continued.
People take part in a protest outside the US embassy in Dublin on Monday. Photo: PA Wire via dpa alt=People take part in a protest outside the US embassy in Dublin on Monday. Photo: PA Wire via dpa
Thao, the 34-year-old policeman who stood guard as Chauvin pressed on Floyd's neck with his knee, had six police conduct complaints filed against him, police records show.
He was also the subject of another case where Lamar Ferguson, a black man, alleged that Thao and another officer beat him until his teeth broke in 2014. The city of Minneapolis paid US$25,000 to settle the civil rights case.
In a statement Saturday, the Committee of 100, a national non-profit organisation of Chinese Americans promoting constructive relations between the US and China, said the group joined with the black community to "seek a better America".
"As members of the Chinese-American community " and by extension members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander community " we have experienced increasing levels of discrimination, racism and violence towards people of Chinese and Asian ethnicity over the past few months," said the statement.
"These acts of hate have no place in America, whether directed against Asian Americans, Black Americans, or anyone else based on the colour of their skin."
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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