Written from Unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Territories, known as Vancouver, BC

June 2020

We are intergenerational Chinese Canadians coming together to address anti-Blackness in our community.

A Letter to Chinese Canadians on Anti-Black Racism

Resources to talk to our parents and elders, across language and generational barriers:

Letter for Black Lives (Canadian Version)
Translated Letter for Black Lives (Canadian version) available in Chinese + 18 other languages)
Talking about justice in Chinese

For further action, please see Black Lives Matter’s Calls to Action
.

We have the privilege to be seen as non-threatening people of colour. We can, as many of us have been taught, “Keep our heads down and work hard to rise above our own racial oppression.” But some communities of colour are systemically denied that opportunity. Even when we do keep our heads down, we are still at risk of being oppressed—we have seen that with the pandemic and the anti-Asian racism that has come to surface.

We recognize that the current structures are not the best equipped to handle community incidents equitably, and instead, can often escalate them towards violence. We recognize that there are more compassionate, just, and effective forms of dealing with community incidents.

Investing in these services will better address the social conditions that can be discriminatory and unsafe for our communities and prevent them from thriving. We cannot improve the lives of our communities without focusing on the sources of injustice around housing, healthcare, drug use, education, labour, and access to opportunities.

As an individual signee of this letter, 
I commit to addressing the above points, to self educate, and to self organize over the coming months, so together we, as intergenerational Chinese Canadians, can better address anti-Black racism and white supremacy in our community. 

We come together, in grief, rage, and solidarity, that another beautiful life has been taken, yet again. We come from various points in our journey of unlearning anti-Blackness. We recognize that these conversations are difficult to have. We are all committing to do this learning, in ways that speak truth to and lean into the discomfort of this topic. 

We as individuals deeply care about the future of our community, and recognize that this moment in time is a tipping point — 
we have been silent too long and can no longer ignore the impacts of anti-Black racism across society.

Kimberley Wong 黄壯慈
Kevin Huang 黃儀軒

Janice Leung 梁雅婷

中文版 | chinese version

Michael S. Tan 譚聖祐
Louis Lapprend 雷樂文

Kathy Thai

Baldwin Wong 黃永安
Jackie Wong

Kimberley Wong 黄壯慈
Kevin Huang 黃儀軒

Michael S. Tan 譚聖祐
Louis Lapprend 雷樂文
Baldwin Wong 黃永安
Jackie Wong

Janice Leung 梁雅婷
Kathy Thai

We need to recognize the privileges we have as Chinese Canadians. 

We need to acknowledge that Black people face
higher levels of violence and brutality from the police. Some Chinese Canadians may perceive benefits from increased policing. We need to critically evaluate who we are putting
in harm’s way when Black people experience higher rates of being stopped with undue cause, or being charged and incarcerated more than any other racial groups in our city.
Conversely, Asian people are underrepresented in police databases, perpetuating the “model minority” myth.

We need to recognize that the racism we face, and the racism that Black communities face, is due to societal structures that work against the humanity, equality, and livelihood 
of all racialized peoples. 

We support the calls from Black communities to invest in community support structures that offer non-violent alternatives to addressing safety and security. 

We commit to advocating for increased funding towards community based mental health and social supports, housing, and other services such as parks and libraries. 

We commit to rebuilding and cultivating relations.

The relationships that our elders fostered during the railway days with both the Black and Indigenous communities were seen as threats to white supremacists. They saw that together, organized, Chinese Canadian, Black Canadian, Indigenous people, and other people of colour were powerful. So they separated us into different neighbourhoods, made us fight each other over resources, capital, and land. Our brave elders sought justice for the right to vote, to advocate for head tax redress, and we have an opportunity now to support others in the fight for justice. 

In this moment, rebuilding relations between racialized and marginalized communities is critical in moving us towards a world where we are, collectively, anti-racist. This includes listening and acting upon the Calls to Action from Black Lives Matter Vancouver and other Black-led and Indigenous-led groups.

We commit to unlearning our biases as part of dismantling these racist structures.

We were taught the racism we have against ourselves, and against Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour. We cannot rebuild relations if we continue to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about Blackness, Indigeneity, and other racialized identities. These stereotypes are racist and we must unlearn and address this in our community to find justice for all people of colour.

2020 design by kathy thai

承認

recognize

支持

support

承諾

commit

敬上

sincerely,

支援

contribute

financially

財政支援

交談 to the discussion

發起人 contributors

For any enquiries, please email   racism@chinatown.today

Your name will be added to the bottom of the letter. By submitting your name, you consent to your name being listed publicly below the letter. Non-English names are welcome. This email will be used to stay in contact about future events, calls to action, and ways to work together in addressing anti-Black racism in our community. We will not share your email without prior consent.