This Time Must Be Different
The Asian American and Asian Research Institute (AAARI) unequivocally condemns the killing of George Floyd. Mr. Floyd’s killing demonstrated a depraved indifference to human life that has not only been a product of the systemic and historical racism of this country but as some have pointed out, anti-blackness. We stand with the Black community and all people of good will who are marching throughout the country to demand that change happen once and for all to dismantle systemic racism, police brutality and instrumentalities of oppression.
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, who grinned casually with his hands in pockets as he forced the life out of Mr. Floyd by pressing his knee into his neck until he was lifeless, follows the recent deaths of other Black citizens, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and an all too long list of others at the hands of the police and law enforcement. But this time, the video that captured the unjustifiable circumstances of Mr. Floyd’s death was too hard to deny or explain away, too painful, too unbearable to ignore.
After months of watching Covid-19 sweep through Black communities, killing and decimating the health and well-being of these communities made all the more vulnerable by systemic racial disparities in healthcare, the raw objective brutality of the act of killing Mr. Floyd, a Black man, was too much.
People have chosen to march and rally against racism and anti-blackness, even in the face of threats to their own health. As some national and local leaders refuse to recognize the systemic nature of racism and anti-blackness, we have begun to see an awareness, a change in perspective at the points where communities and the systems which have been the instruments of racism and anti-blackness intersect. Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz has ordered a civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department; officers around the country have openly criticized their fellow police officers for acts that violate the law and deny human rights; police leadership and officers have chosen to show solidarity and march with the protestors, health and medical care providers have declared racism the number one threat to the health of this nation. These are small changes that are a long time in coming, but offer hope as the conversation continues across the nation.
However, this time must be different. As many risk their lives and well being to make their voices heard, we must understand that the price that will be paid in a second wave of the pandemic and as contagion spreads as a result of these protests, that the communities of color will be again be most severely impacted. We have to ensure that a truthful and honest dialogue about race in this country takes place and that the goals of systemic change are achieved and sustained. Without this, we cannot truly honor the sacrifice of those on the front lines of the protests, George Floyd’s life and the life of so many others who came before.
We must not allow the dialog to die as we go about our daily lives. We at AAARI recognize that the imperative to teach America’s history has never been stronger. Only when we know the history of all of the communities that built this country, will we begin to understand the depths and roots of racism, anti-blackness, and how it impacts the lives of our fellow citizens and ourselves. Only then will we understand that when Black Lives Matter, then All Lives Matter.
Sincerely,
Asian American and Asian Research Institute – City University of New York:
- Joyce Moy, Executive Director, AAARI-CUNY
- Antony Wong, Program Coordinator, AAARI-CUNY
Board Members:
- Vinit Parmar, Vice-Chair, Associate Professor, Brooklyn College
- Carol Huang, Secretary, Assistant Professor, The City College of New York
- Young Cheong, Education Coordinator, New Media and Digital Technology; Program Director, CUNY Study Abroad in South Korea; Adjunct Associate Professor, Brooklyn College
- Ravi Kalia, Professor, The City College of New York
- Rose Kim, Associate Professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College
- Sambhavi Lakshminarayanan, Professor, Medgar Evers College
- Catherine Ma, Associate Professor, Kingsborough Community College
- Ann Matsuuchi, Instructional Technology Librarian and Professor, LaGuardia Community College
- Yung-Yi Diana Pan, Associate Professor, Brooklyn College
