Many people in my community assume we are not welcome outside of America. With anti-blackness being global in some shape or form, this is a concern. The anti-blackness has been used as a tactic to keep us in fear and stunt our growth as a community.
Unfortunately, this tactic works well, removing us from opportunities to form enriching connections with others. Some people I have met in the Black community take on a “why bother?” attitude, and I want to say there’s hope. There are already so many people in the Black community pushing out of these boundaries. We must continue to be pragmatic and explorative despite the possibility of facing more challenges.
I used to frequent Twitter back in the good ol’ days (I don't have one anymore, so don't ask me for it) I loved looking at all the micro-debates going on. But one thing in particular ground my gears. Many individuals would tell Black people not to go to various places, Japan being one of them, claiming that “Japanese people (and Asians in general) hate Black people.” I wasn’t entirely shocked by this statement, especially when it came from Americans. Black-Asian tensions are not unheard of in America, and if something happens in America it must also be world-wide.
For example, the Black-Asian conflict is used to frame the LA Riots quite frequently, however, it is not the reason why those riots ignited. During the LA Riots, a Black man named Rodney King was brutalized for 15 minutes by four policemen, this murder was videotaped. In the same month, a 15-year-old Black child named Latasha Harlins who was accused of stealing an orange juice was murdered by a Korean woman. Later it was found that the child was holding money intending to buy the orange juice. The murderer was given a $500 fine and probation. Because of this, racial tension between Korean Americans and Black Americans heightened. Not only that but the crime of that individual was then conflated with other Asian communities as a whole.
More recently with the death of George Floyd, the eruption of Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, and Stop Asian Hate all occurring back to back and simultaneously, the Black-Asian conflict was once again back under the spotlight. People seemed to have forgotten or were not informed of the problems that Black and Asian communities worked and are working to mitigate together. It also slips their mind that they are living under conditions that are the direct products of Christian Nationalism which of course is most popular amongst White Americans.
If you take a look at the article, Koreans, Asian Indians, and Japanese people are the top three Asian communities that recognize discrimination against the Black community in America. In conjunction with that, Black people in America are more likely to recognize racism against their Asian peers than other groups. During the height of BLM, many came together in Tokyo and Osaka to hold demonstrations and protests in solidarity with Black Americans. These real-world examples of solidarity should never be forgotten when we discuss the relationship between Black Americans and their Asian American and more specifically Japanese peers.
There will be people who do not believe in the discrimination that happens. But that does not mean that it does not exist or that as Black Americans we cannot find common ground with our Asian peers. That does not mean shunning a group of people or speaking about experiences you have no information about. It means to go out and experience these things yourself to form an opinion with more body and depth. We will build strong communities when we see each other as human beings, see each other as individuals and recognize that we all have a common struggle. We will be a lot more difficult to divide. We must work together to reach a common understanding of each other's communities and get to the source of certain beliefs. The individuals unwilling to learn and grow will be crushed under the weight of experience and wisdom.
With that being said, I still have friends and family members back home asking me if I was sure about moving to an Asian country, some of them even insinuated that I wouldn’t or shouldn’t go. Many of them have wondered about my safety and whether or not I am being treated fairly. I know that they all mostly had good intentions. But the fact of the matter is, I am completely fine. If anything, living in Japan has helped me become more interested in my family and culture as a Black individual. Being open-minded has helped me come to realizations about myself, the people around me, and to learn more deeply about Japanese culture. Not only do I want to contribute to the Black community, but I find myself wanting to do so here in Osaka with Japanese communities because I consider Osaka my home. I consider the people here my people.
If you missed my New Year's blog, it would be a good time to reference back to it. I discuss more about my experience in Japan so far.
Before we continue to perpetuate negative ideas about each other, it would be more beneficial to stop and think about ways we work well together. To answer the question, “Do Asian people hate Black people?” in general, the answer is no. Are there Asian people who hate Black people? The answer is yes. But are there also Black people who hate Asians? Yes. Do we work well together? The answer is also yes. Which would you rather focus on? Which would you rather perpetuate? It’s time we take accountability for our own decisions and investigate our claims about other communities more thoroughly. So yes, I take accountability and I am without shame when I push the Asiatic Black Man AKA the Black and Yellow agenda. birdman hand rubs
Discouraging Black people from traveling and forming their own opinions is damaging and a trap to repeat the same cycles over again. Because these same cycles are repeated and we constantly listen to fear, we are doomed to become the monolith we desperately try to fight against. It is time to be free from the mental chains that bind you. Some of us are used to struggling, used to the conditions of America, and its historical context, and hearing of many others dealing with similar issues. Why bother going anywhere else and bridging the gap between different cultures? Why try?
Well, we are worth the try that’s why.
