Maureen Boyd,
Oakland, CA.
It is very hard when non-Asian people of color who are supposed to be your allies in racial justice do not honor your experience as an Asian person as an experience of a person of color. While the model minority stereotype, global employment markets and certain cultural values may have resulted in Asians being hired at high rates in Silicon valley, there are still many deeply impoverished Asian communities throughout America, and Asians and Asian Americans face almost daily racism. I have been called a gook by complete strangers, people have asked me where I am from, harassed by mother on the street, harassed ME on the street with fake “Chinese” sounding language, men have assaulted me and my mother, classmates, employers and colleagues have ridiculed our food, appearance, manner of speaking and cultural expectations. Men have told me they expected me to be “submissive.” These are real, ongoing and constant experiences of racism and it is time for other POC in the fight for racial justice made a greater effort to recognize and respect that fact.
