by dboutin | Jun 25, 2020 | afro-latinx, black, dboutin, hispanic, trending
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur?
by abantval | Jun 25, 2020 | abantval, indian, south asian, trending
To put it simply, Indian Americans must care about Black lives because this is not a political issue we can choose to ignore, it’s a human rights issue that affects each and every one of us. However, Black Americans have given Indian community much more than we choose to acknowledge. For one, after the Civil Rights Movement, America passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which directly allowed South Asians to immigrate to America to seek better jobs and opportunities. Without the work put in by Black activists, America would not have fought to diversify and allow non-white immigrants to come here.
The movements sparked by Civil Rights injustices also inspired and empowered Indian Dalit communities. The Black Panthers in America propelled the Dalit Panthers movement in India. Fighting with similar motives, to not be outcast and discriminated against for race and caste, each group revolted against a system built to disadvantage them. We were once so moved by the revolutionary movements from Black Americans that we followed in their footsteps to fight against systemic oppression in our Motherland; we were heard and supported by Black Americans when we needed it. Now, we fail them by turning our cheek when they need our support. Indian Americans need to re-evaluate our history and realize how much more alike we are than different. We need to question why after starting revolutions in India, do we ignore the call to action in America.
As a first generation Indian American I see how my Indian peers take Black culture when it conveniences them. We dress like our favorite Black rappers, blast their music, adopt their vernacular, dance like them, even wrongfully say the N-word because we feel entitled to it. No longer can we as a community steal from a culture that has continually given us so much without supporting them in the BLM Movement with that same energy. Black lives matter because human lives matter. Indian Americans must stop appealing to some mythical ideal of whiteness and model minority status and begin to connect back to our roots of revolution and be the best allies to the Black community we can be.
-Contributed by Advaith’s sister, Niyati Bantval (https://www.linkedin.com/in/niyati-bantval/)
by abantval | Jun 24, 2020 | abantval, black, trending
It’s June 2nd, a week since the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. His murder at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers has sparked widespread outrage with demonstrations in over 140 US cities and over a dozen other countries around the world. Along with public demonstrations in a time of COVID-19, support for Black Lives Matter has engulfed social media. Instagram stories meticulously exposing the corruption of the criminal justice system, incompetence on part of the government, and standing ignorance of white and NBPOC.
While the movement is gaining traction, especially among members of Generation-Z, it’s become abundantly apparent how disconnected the majority of Americans are from the struggles that Black people have faced throughout history. With media networks such as Fox News framing Black Lives Matter along party lines, it’s easy to assume from a non-invested onlooker’s glance that the movement is purely political. That could not be farther from the truth.
The struggle for Black equity is over 400 years old, dating back to 1619 when the first British settlers reached Virginia and brought slaves – Africans who were kidnapped from their homes and stripped of their culture. From here, a slave society was built. For over 200 years, slavery was cemented as a core tenant of the American lifestyle. The issue of abolition was ignored during the Constitutional Conventions, prior to the establishment of a free union, since slavery was so critical to the South’s economy that an abolishing it would in turn destroy the newly established American economy. Even despite incorporating a Bill of Rights to outline “Americans’ rights in relation to their government”, the 3/5 Compromise awarded slaves identity while concurrently stripping them of their humanity. Furthermore, Fugitive Slave Acts required officials to return slaves to their owners in the case of an attempted escape – an early law that built the foundation for rights of personal property and consequently, modern policing.
President Lincoln’s illustrious Gettysburg Address marked the end of end of slavery in the United States – but only in name. The 13th Amendment, while it made waves in its time period, was riddled with easily sidestepped loopholes. In an attempt to codify African-Americans as close to property as possible, many southern states implemented racist and dehumanizing statutes such as sharecropping – a modern form a slavery that trapped African Americans in a cycle of compounding debt to their white male landowners, Black Codes, and Jim Crow laws. The Black Codes exploited a 13th Amendment loophole that confined Black people to farming or servitude positions with the threat of reinstating slavery. These policies both created and cemented primarily Black communities.
Over the years since, then through the 19th and 20th centuries, policy upon policy of redlining, redistricting, gentrification, segregation, gerrymandering, and voter suppression have been actively implemented to legalize the silencing of Black voices in government. Courts are stacked bottom up against people of color thereby increasing the rates of conviction for alleged crimes all the way down to the local level. With each election cycle, Black voices are outnumbered by their White counterparts strategically to diminish the voice of the minority. Black neighborhoods are marked by superficial ratings that drastically affect the amount of housing, education, and development funds are allocated to them by all tiers of government. Racial profiling is normalized throughout police departments all throughout the nation which disproportionately targets Black and Hispanic people.
Black Lives Matter isn’t a political issue. It’s a revolution against an undeniably unfair system. Systematic oppression discriminates on the basis of RACE, not political affiliation. It directly contradicts the very values that the government touts the pride of the United States – universal inclusivity and access to the American Dream.
By painting systemic racism as a political issue, you admit the fragility of your privilege. This movement is about equality – to treat Black and White Americans the same on all levels. It is committed to finally establish “a fair trial” through criminal justice reform, and “access to the American Dream” through education reform. It pledges to promote a truly democratic system and to not prioritize on American’s voice above another’s.
Until we address the need Black Lives Matters and similar such movements, we can’t say we live in a post-racial America because the nation actively oppresses a quarter of its population on the basis of race. We can’t criticize Black protestors for protesting because for over 400 years, their voices have fallen on deaf ears. We can’t claim that African-Americans should “get over slavery” because remnants of the same institutions exist today. This movement is not a revolution for political gain, it’s a revolution for politically equality at best. It calls for the basic human rights which America is so resistant to provide. We’ve INVADED countries to force them to instate human rights policies, why can’t we just accept change?
To help the cause, consider donating to National Community Bail Funds to protect those engaging in peaceful protest.
Change starts from within. To inform yourself and loved ones on how you can become an antiracist ally, look at the resources in this
spreadsheet.
#blacklivesmatter
Image from: https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/black-lives-matter-protest-planned-18355803
