This statement was sent to all Newton Teachers Association members this past week:
Support Asian and Asian-American Students, Educators and Families––and Reject Hate:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been brutally hard on all of us, as we struggle to balance work and other commitments, care for family members, and support our students emotionally through this traumatic time. To get through this, our solidarity as union members and our supportive relationships with each other are more important now than ever.
While acknowledging the struggles we all face, it is critical to recognize that this pandemic has unleashed an ugly and extremely dangerous form of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia that we must fight and defeat. We see it on the national stage in increased incidents of harassment and hate crimes against Asian Americans and in despicable rhetoric from politicians. In our own community, we have seen Asian and Asian-American educators and students targeted in hate-filled “Zoom-bombing” incidents in high school classes. We must be absolutely clear and unwavering in our support for Asian and Asian-American students, educators, and families who have been targets or are at risk of being targets of this hate.
Let us take this moment to think about how we can use our collective power to take a stand against racism in all its forms and acknowledge that hate and xenophobia have no place in our schools and our community. Let us also see this as a call to action to reflect on our own privileges and biases, and commit to further educating ourselves and becoming even better allies for our students and fellow educators of color.
As we develop a plan as a union at the local and statewide level to counter this hate, each of us is called upon to reflect on how we can show support and solidarity for our Asian and Asian-American coworkers and students on an individual level. This can be as simple as checking in to see how your Asian-identifying students and coworkers are doing, organizing a video or photo collage with your colleagues sending the message that we love and support our Asian and Asian-American students and that we stand firm in rejecting hate. If we all commit to being allies in our everyday interactions with our colleagues and students, we can make this crisis just a little more bearable for many of us who are most at risk.
In the longer term, our Asian-American students need us to learn even more about their experiences and the challenges they face. Many Asian-American students have had to contend with long-standing explicit and implicit bias and discrimination that the current, alarming rise in anti-Asian American sentiment has exacerbated. The “model minority” stereotype, an assumption that all Asian-American students do exceptionally well academically, can lead many of us to assume that Asian-American students are thriving. Too often, this means that Asian-American students face risks to their emotional and mental health that we as a school system fail to identify. And more Asian-American students face socioeconomic challenges than many Newton staff would imagine. These struggles may not always be visible to educators for a variety of reasons, but they are a very real part of many Asian-American students’ lives as they go through the Newton Public Schools. We must commit to showing our Asian-American students that we see them, hear them, and value them as individuals and as an essential part of the Newton community.
If you have ideas for how we can leverage the collective power of our union to support Asian-Americans and all communities of color, please let us know. And to our members who identify as Asian or Asian-American, please know that you are not alone. Just as we reaffirm our commitment to supporting all of our students and members of color, we pledge to stand in solidarity with you, support you as coworkers, friends, and allies, and take actions large and small to defeat hate and bias in all forms.
I want to provide a different perspective on this timely issue. I am part Asian, although can pass for Caucasian, so for all intents and purposes I am white.
This notion that racism (and in some cases all discrimination) can simply be ended with strong condemnation is hogwash. So is thinking that posting an uplifting story about your black, Asian, Jewish etc. friend will change someone’s point of view. We can probably all think back to points in our lives where others made us feel lesser in some way. Perhaps it was on the playground when another kid teased our baseball skills, or lack thereof. In this example, the teacher who tried to solve this moral quandary would say, “Everyone is special. And everyone can be a great baseball player,” which not only did not address the hate, it only caused more frustration and anger than the person who made the comments in the first place.
In the current climate, a lot of people are hurting. Financially, socially, mentally. For many of us V14 readers, COVID-19 has been nothing more than an extended holiday. I can imagine as many of you read the preceding line, you might think, “Not me! I’ve had it hard! I’m hurting too.” But, ask yourself if you have truly been hit hard. Are you concerned you will lose your home? Have you been subject to racist zoom bombing of meetings? Have you been asking these questions for years.
A lot of people who spew hate are simply fearful for their future. They get angry about their now-lost job that never payed enough, that didn’t provide adequate physical and mental healthcare, the frequent call from the speculator trying to buy their home, the telemarketers in India who took their job for cents on the dollar, and then they have to look at their kids and tell them they have nothing and while they know so much about our economy they are helpless to benefit to it, or perhaps when the roles are reversed, they hear this type of hopelessness from their parents. And to top it all off, they turn on the TV and hear praise of society in general or some politician focusing on an “safe” issue.
Discrimination and hate have been around forever, and are natural human characteristics. Anyone who denies this does not accept the fundamentals of evolution. That does not mean these behaviors should be tolerated. They should not. As Master Yoda said, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear Leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” However, simply condemning racism and not doing the hard work to fix the fundamental problems of inequality in our country, and world, does nothing more than gloss over the issue like the teacher in elementary school.
To my fellow Asian friends, I say this; accept that times are uncertain. Accept that some people are acting out of fear and frustration and not out of logic and understanding. Also respect the fact that some instances of hate, while rare, such as having people stare at you or move to the other side of the road when you are walking by, may simply be a simple misunderstanding. If you need help, get it and never be afraid to do so. And above all, practice forgiveness and giving the benefit of the doubt. For some, like myself, you can hurl whatever insults you want in my direction, as long as it helps you make it to tomorrow, because this too, shall pass.
Sorry for any spelling errors.
Well said, James.
– Fellow Asian
Thank you, James, for your thoughtful statement. Racism is, unfortunately, a part of the human condition. For that reason, it’s essential that we be more thoughtful about how to respond when an incident occurs in our community and beyond. Saying everyone is special isn’t thoughtful or an appropriate response to any of the situations you describe. We can and must do better with our students and for our faculty.