I’m hesitant to write this. I’m hesitant to hit the publish button. Even though I was born and raised here, I worry that I’m going to sound disrespectful to some people of my ancestral culture for reprimanding them/correcting them for their ignorant comments. But I’m doing it anyway and fully expect take down messages from people East Asian heritage. But then again, no one really reads this blog.
Asian bias towards Blacks is not a new issue. But it’s an issue that is rarely examined by mainstream media since we’re also a “disadvantaged” group, ethnically speaking. Well, to an extent. In the past few decades, hate crimes towards Asians have been low, at least in Canada (and from what I understand, the US), until Covid hit. And I’ve haven’t heard of much police brutality towards people of East Asian heritage. However, I know that there has been tension between various East Asian and Black communities. That or ignorance. Sometimes it’s cultural misunderstanding (often because of isolation) or linguistic difficulty, but other times, at least from the vibe I get, is about distrust of people who are “different” – especially from the immigrant generation.
To be quite honest, outside of media, I have personally had very little exposure to various African, Afro-Caribbean and African American cultures, other than the one year I lived in Bermuda. Other than that, the neighbourhoods I grew up in, no matter how diverse, were mostly populated by people of Chinese, Anglo-Canadian, Eastern European Jewish and South Asian (mostly Indian) ancestries. There were, perhaps, three Black girls in my grade in high school, two the year above, and one (were there any more? I don’t remember. I’ll need to look at my old yearbooks) the grade below. That’s not a lot of kids, compared to the number of East or South Asian students. This isn’t surprising, I suppose, in the 1990s private school world.
Exposure is key. East Asians tend to be newer Canadians and due to linguistic challenges for many, typically only associate with others who are from the same community. Their only exposure to Blacks might be from what they see, often through media, so that may be their only exposure (I want to note that growing up, I was actually criticized by my maternal grandmother for watching…get this…The Cosby Show. This was in the 80s, looonnnnnng before THAT situation, so it wasn’t because my grandmother thought Bill Cosby was a crook. She didn’t seem to say anything about Fresh Prince a few years later, so maybe she realized what she was doing. My parents, on the other hand, just didn’t want me to spend too much time in front of the TV, period). Due to neighbourhoods they typically live in, their kids may have had little exposure as well (you go to school in your catchment area, and if the district doesn’t have a significant Black population, you’re not going to have too many Black peers in your class). And there may be little exposure in their places of work as well (if you manage a Chinese restaurant or are a doctor and all your staff is Chinese, along with the vast majority of your clientele (or patients), you’re just not going to see much of anyone else. However, even people whose jobs are outside of the community could have met few Black people). And even if the kids are less biased, they may be afraid to call out the older generation for their ignorance (especially if they’re still under age, but it’s not limited to people under 18) – if they say anything, the older generation may criticize them for being “disrespectful” of elders. So younger people retreat, at least when they’re with older family. I’m also not disagreeing that colourism plays a role. Lighter skin equating upper classes is so ingrained in many of these communities and goes back thousands of years (predating European contact, so we can’t 100% blame this on colonialism). And issues with some (older) people from the population who just want to associate with their “own kind” that kind of leans towards keeping bloodlines “pure.” That’s a minority, of course (and I don’t personally know anyone who feel this way). At least I hope it is. Of course, not everyone is this way. But many are.
What can we do about it? First off, media. So far, it’s been made out to be a Black/White issue. It’s not. It’s an everyone issue, and it’s unfair not to even open discussion about other communities’ biases, specifically towards the Black population. However, they don’t even seem to acknowledge that these biases exist. And they should. It’s not just media, in fact, but even the random population. The reason why I bring this up is because I recently saw an invitation to openly discuss the issue of bias, but the name of the (virtual) event made me feel unwelcome. It was an open forum (?) for black and white women to discuss challenges in various areas in society. So where does that leave me? I sent the organizer(s) an email and even her reply said it was “specifically” for Black and White women. She said that there’d be other events for other groups, curated specifically for them (she used “black” and “brown,” which also implied that there weren’t any for people of East Asian heritage. I’ve never heard of East Asians calling themselves “brown” (unless it’s an American thing)). For East Asian-specific events, I realize linguistic issues can pose a problem and even getting people out (regardless of whether it’s in-person (when we can do so) or virtual). But it needs to be done. Even if we need to use five interpreters to get the point across linguistically.
Keep in mind that this is based on what I’ve seen and from my own experiences. It isn’t necessarily the case with everyone. That said, I want to open this up for discussion. If you’re black, what has been your experience with various East Asian communities? If you grew up in Canada or the US, were there many East Asian kids at your neighbourhood or school, and if so, what was that like for you? What about Asians? Were there many black kids at your school? Your neighbourhood? How did your parents feel about the other community? I also want to open this to people from neither communities. What are your thoughts? Did you realize this was an issue? Why don’t media talk about this? Is it fear? Is it just trying to stay “PC?”
