Bryna, Portland, Ore.

    “Racism I've seen and experienced has been Asianness intertwined with foreignness. Perpetual foreignness. Foreignness that okays exocticizing, humiliating, othering- in blatant and microaggressive ways. The fear of being attached to foreigness has caused many communities of color to push away from our family traditions and cultures. We are constantly gaslighted in our experiences with microaggressions that ultimately create pathways to acceptance or lack of attention to hate incidents and crimes- they are compliments, interests in our culture, interests in learning. I wish yte people would understand that I am not responsible for their learning, and that they should be embarrassed to ask so much of us all the time.
    Being Mexican and particularly SE Asian, I've seen a lot of similarities and differences between how Asians have been used by the model minority myth to undermine other immigrant and communities of color, which further ostracizes Asians from feeling solidarity both within and outside of the Asian community. Even right now, media highlights Asian hate crimes that promotes division and racial tensions- we need to fight to eliminate anti-Blackness in our communities and truly learn solidarity.
"Conditional citizens" really defines our historical relationship to the US both in immigration law and in more intimate social spaces too. We have been prevented from voting, from having agency and feeling at home in this "melting pot" of a country. I was always taught to just navigate the hurdles I faced, that resilience is everything, but in thanks and inspiration of Black female leaders, I'm also trying to find ways to build better places for us all.”