These drawings were made amidst much grief and frustration this past week in part of the continued targeted violence and erasure of Asian community experience that continues to uphold a status quo for White Supremacy Culture. The black pen and Copic marker drawings are titled “White Supremacy Culture Kills” and “End State Sanctioned Silence”. Unfortunately these acts of violence are not new to our communities locally and abroad. The continued silencing, misinformation and lies behind these truths adds salt to the gaping wounds of grief.
Based off of social media it appears that family members and local organizations most impacted by immediate violence in Atlanta and San Francisco this last week have been receiving a lot of donations during this time. Money can never bring their loved ones back or undo the trauma, and the racist responses by police and news outlets must continue to be acknowledged, named and challenged. This has been another tragic reminder of how police, I.C.E. and our military are here to steal and maintain government wealth, property, resources and reputation. They continue to not care about our lives. I share these visuals and additional resources below because our community has not been given time to mourn because media outlets are rewriting the story to fit their narrative. Police are seizing these traumatic opportunities to further their surveillance and control over already targeted community. We must continue to support efforts that continue to challenge and dismantle White Supremacy Culture before it kills all of us and our natural environment.
My recommendation for folks still looking for ways to support their Asian community members at this time is to learn about the potentially messed up and complicated Asian history in your region and abroad, support local Asian creators being asked to do more right now, spend your money at Asian owned businesses and seek out local organizations that have been doing the real work. In the Seattle and Tacoma area, closer to where I reside, there are probably more than what I am listing below who I can vouch for to continue supporting that intersect with these community issues that have Asian leadership and come at the work in an intersectional anti-racist lens:
– Massage Parlor Outreach Project (MPOP) is a group of community members looking to provide outreach support for Asian immigrant massage workers in Seattle’s Chinatown International District, connecting workers with resources and information about workers and immigrant rights, and seeking to build community. They can be found on Facebook or Instagram at @mpop_sea
– API Chaya is a nonprofit in Seattle supporting survivors of domesitic violence, sexual assault & human trafficking. They can be found at https://www.apichaya.org/ or on Instagram at @apichayasea
– Khmer Anti-Deportation Group is a community effort to advocate, support and provide resources for our community members who are targeted by I.C.E. with orders of removal. They are on Instagram @khaagwa
– Tsuru for Solidarity is a nation wide effort by Japanese Americans to Close the Camps, Stop Repeating History and Free Them All. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram at @tsuruforsolidarity
– La Resistencia is a grassroots, undocumented-led movemnt that works to end the detention of immigrants, stop all deportations and shut down the immigrant detention center in Tacoma. Their website is laresistencianw.org and can be found on Facebook or Instagram at @laresistencianw
– Got Green is an organization building power of the working class communities of color in Seattle for jobs, housing, and climate justice. Their website is gotgreenseattle.org and are on Instagram at @gotgreenseattle
– Queer the Land is a queer & trans Black/Indigenous/people of color with the vision of collectively owning our land & labor. Their website is queertheland.org/ or you can find them on Instagram @queertheland
– Minidoka Pilgrimage is a nonprofit dedicated to coordinating an annual pilgrimage to the former Minidoka Internment Camp. Their website is minidokapilgrimage.org and are on Instagram at @minidokapilgrimage
– Anakbayan Seattle is a local chapter of Anakbayan a group of young Filipinx-American organizers in solidarity to oust the Philippines facist dictator Duterte and end the Terror Law. There are several local chapters on Instagram @anakbayanseattle @anakbayansouthseattle @anakbayanuw
– Pacific Rim Solidarity Network (PARISOL) is a group of organizers in Seattle of the Chinese diaspora supporting comrades in Hong Kong. They can be found on Instagram at @parisol_seattle
– ILPS Seattle-Tacoma is building a people’s anti imperialist united front for genuine liberation from capitalism and all reaction. Their instagram is @ilps_seattle_tacoma
– GABRIELA Seattle is a collective of Seattle area Filipin@s advancing the militant women’s movement in the Philippines and around the world. Their instagram is @gabrielaseattle
A big shout out to fellow Justseeds members Jess X Snow for raising funds for Red Canary Song with such gorgeous posters and post cards, Erik Ruin for technical image assistance, Roger Peet for getting this out on social media and for Zola passing along these rad Copic markers!
