Dear South Asians, You Are Indebted to The Black Community
By: Ramneet Sachdev
Tags: Immigration, BlackLivesMatter, South Asian, Racism, Trump

Image of Civil Rights Movement taken from google

This week, President Trump suspended work Visas that allow citizens of other countries to come to the United States for employment. The suspension also blocks spouses of current H1B Visa holders from coming to the United States. This would keep over a half million workers from coming here just this year. The tech and hospitality industries will be affected the most.

In 2018, 73% of all H1B Visa petitions were filed by Indian citizens, far ahead of China at 11%. Business leaders of major tech companies like Google, Apple and Amazon have all spoken out against the President, noting that tech companies rely on engineering talent from all over the world.

This is one specific and current example of the President using his political power to create laws that shut out the South Asian Community. This isn’t however, the first time politicians have designed laws that shut out whole communities from thriving in the United States. Voter suppression, redlining and healthcare discrimination are all examples of politicians designing and passing laws that ensure Black communities cannot thrive over white communities.

The United States, under the Trump Administration, exists solely to elevate and support white Americans.

The Black Lives Matter movement highlights how the United States serves the white majority, and thereby strategically and systematically guaranteeing that Black people do not have a voice, hold political, socio economic and financial power in the country in which they were brought in as slaves, to build.

While South Asians should not need an explicit reason to support BLM, many South Asians, especially the older immigrant populations consider Black Lives Matter only a Black issue, for and by Black Americans.

This could not be more incorrect.

After the exclusionary era in the early 1900s that barred Asians from coming to the US and seeking citizenship, things took a turn with The Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965. The Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 created avenues for Asians to immigrate and gain citizenship to the United States, and most notably, created the H1B Visa program.

Specifically, The Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 effectively abolished race-based immigration quotas and instead prioritized refugees, people with special skills (read: tech skills in the late 90s), and family members of immigrants.

All of this was possible because of the work Black Leaders did through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The movement, led by Black Americans, made it clear that non white voices mattered. The Civil Rights Movement challenged the idea that The United States was more than just a white nation that serves the white majority. The effects of the Civil Rights Movement benefited all minorities and in one tangible case, gave the ability for many South Asians like my family to immigrate to the United States.

The suspension of H1B visas is just the tip of the iceberg. The Trump Presidency will continue to uphold white supremacist ideals and currently, the only movement pushing the needle to challenge those ideals is The Black Lives Matter movement. Therefore, it is necessary to stand and support Black Lives Matter because 60 years later Black Americans are fighting for the same rights and the effects of BLM will continue to be shared across all minorities in The United States. We owe it to the Black Community.

There are ways to start paying the large immigrant debt back to the Black community:

Reject the idea that Asians are a “model minority.” Recognize that this type of rhetoric is used as a tool to separate and alienate the Black community. By accepting the concept of “model minority,” you’re choosing to ignore the laws that actively shut out Black Americans from thriving in the United States. Asian Immigrants are not adversely affected by such laws and as a result, thrive at the expense of Black Americans.. Acknowledge the pyramid of privilege and understand where you are placed on it. Asian Americans are not overwhelmingly murdered by the police, they are not a significant part of the prison population. We are in fact, privileged. Challenge racist rhetoric and ideals in conversations with your family and community members everyday. Much of the racism against the Black community was learned from the motherland though British Imperialism but is amplified and reinforced in The United States. Educate yourself on the history of slavery, racism and discrimination and refrain from placing the burden on Black people to educate you. Learn about contemporary initiatives supported by Black leaders such as defunding the police and what it means. Be Active. Show up to protests. Physically use yourself as a barrier between Black protestors and the police. Create the space and elevate Black voices at protests. Refrain from voicing opinions on what you think is a successful movement or a successful “peaceful protest.” The movement is not happening because of you, so follow the lead of Black organizers and activists. Volunteer to translate anti-black racism articles, videos and other multimedia to reach older generations and non native english speakers. Urdu speakers, share this widely. Focus on the issue at hand. Do not expend time or energy rationalizing why Black people are getting murdered or why the police did what they did. Do not normalize it. Do not get desensitized by it. Stay angry and allow Black Americans to be angry. Support Black Businesses either financially or otherwise. For example, use your technical skills to bring a Black owned business online. Provide career coaching to Black youth seeking employment during the recession. If you’re an accountant, assist Black owned business applying for special Covid related loans. Set up recurring donations for underfunded organizations that serve Black causes and are Black led. Recognize the concept of Philanthropic Redlining. Believe Black people, period.

These are simply ten suggestions to start on the journey to supporting Black Lives. It is clear that we can no longer sit ideally while Black Americans are dying and fighting for us at the same time. We owe them so much.