Chinese Americans are Learning What It’s Like To Be Black During the COVID-19 Pandemic Tony Lindsay Follow Mar 30 · 8 min read

Houston, we have a problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the one-time stable existence of Chinese Americans and flipped it on its head. The social and economic security they once had in the U.S. has suddenly devolved to one of uncertainty and fear. Walking down a city street on a nice day has a new meaning for our Asian American friends. Occasional looks of disgust greet them as they stroll along their way, minding their own business. They are accosted by random strangers who hurl racial slurs-and in some instances, even violent attacks. People grab their belongings and distance themselves in public, as if they present an immediate danger to their personal safety.

Welcome to the life of a Black person in America.

As a Black person living in the U.S., believe me, I understand your pain. But, if I am to be honest, I must tell you that I am truly struggling to care. Do I know that it’s wrong? Yes, I do. However, if I-, no… if we are to deal with this collective apathy that the Black community is feeling about your current predicament, well, then, Baby…we need to talk.

For decades East Asian (diaspora) life in America has benefitted from a socio-economic proximity to whiteness that Black Americans have never had access to. While educational opportunities for Black folks have been largely restricted by way of lower funding for schools in Black neighborhoods, the school to prison pipeline and racist specialized testing, Chinese Americans have always had a very special and secure place within that system. Chinese businesses flourish all over the country, mostly in so-called minority neighborhoods. Some may argue that this is the direct result of the Chinese community practicing group economics and hiring their own people (even so much as to violate Federal law in the form of the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972), which is partly true. But, there are more contributing factors to their success in this country besides ‘hard work,’ and ‘saving money.’ The truth is, Black Americans (and African people in general) are no strangers to group economics (what do you think a ‘su-su’ is?). In fact, it has always been a driving force in places outside of the United States, like the Caribbean and Africa. However, in the United States, Black people are systemically denied access to business loans and permits, and when we’re approved, we’re charged higher interest rates that render our businesses unsustainable. We are also boxed out of the overall regulatory processes needed to start businesses that white and Asian communities regularly benefit from-especially in big cities, like New York. This happens all the time, even when we have the capital.

Protesters gather in front of the New Red Apple nail salon in Brooklyn, NY, after Christina Thomas and her grandmother, Thelma Medley, were allegedly gang assaulted by seven Chinese employees of the salon.

These are just a few of the many ways in which Black people are denied access to wealth, which affects every other aspect of American life. So, when you follow us around your stores when we’re simply looking for shampoo, or you beat our women with broomsticks and throw acetone in their faces over a five dollar balance at a nail salon-or, even if you remain SILENT about that treatment that we are regularly subjected to in your businesses-then, we have a serious problem.

So, my Chinese friends; we, the Black delegation, want you to know that it is time to face your racism, and stop being hypocrites.

President Trump reacts to a reporter who asks him why he refers to COVID-19 as the ‘Chinese virus’

Until recently, there has existed a willful ignorance of everything biased related to Black folks, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, the chorus of unity and tolerance rings out with resounding echoes throughout the halls of social justice. The media warns of an increase in Asian American hate crimes while condemning Donald Trump’s use of the phrase “Chinese virus” as hate filled and bigoted. After Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) announced he was self-quarantining after contact at CPAC with a person subsequently confirmed to have “the Wuhan Virus,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes tweeted, “Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus.” The insult and stigma inflicted by diseases named for people, places, and even animals is a very real thing. But, in light of that truth, one is left to wonder where that same energy and passion is when names like ‘Ebola,’ ‘West Nile virus’ and ‘Spanish flu’ roll off the tongues of the same people condemning the geographical identification of COVID-19. Donald Trump’s rhetoric inadvertently exposes the hypocrisy that exists across racial lines when fighting racism. Come on, let’s be honest here-it’s one thing to be a racist-but to be a racist and a hypocrite is especially heinous.

So, my friends, during this time of social discord and unsurety, now is as good a time as any to conduct a little self-inventory. Ask yourself, “Am I truly against racism and hate?” Or could it be that you’re OK with it, as long as it only affects other races? It is time to face your own dissonance and, in some cases, hatred. As the mainstream media campaigns for the end of anti-Chinese rhetoric, social media has become flooded with Chinese Americans calling for solidarity and empathy. Even in my own personal encounters with our Chinese and Chinese American neighbors, I am presented with the same sentiment. However, in virtually all of those interactions, there is also an element of fear; a fear that is revealed every time they express concern for the possibility of being attacked by ‘violent’ black people. Many have failed to see their own racism in their very calls to end it. One can also wonder if this push for unity is driven by a desire to get back to business as usual, where the status quo remains intact and the profitable (and imbalanced) economic relationship between Blacks and Chinese immigrants resumes.

A lavish four-hour Lunar New Year show televised to millions across China contained caricatures featuring blackface and African men in animal suits. Pic by NSTP/ courtesy from Youtube

Until recently, the relationship between Black Americans and the Chinese immigrant community has been a pretty convenient one… for the Chinese. Therefore, if a respectful and harmonious relationship is to be achieved, there has got to be some changes. For example, the current xenophobia that our Chinese immigrant neighbors are currently experiencing mirrors the hostility that is regularly unleashed against Black immigrants in China. Chinese culture has some of the most egregious anti-black sentiment on the planet. To this very day, the images of Blacks in China’s media and entertainment industry remain insulting, racist and degrading. We are regularly mocked in blackface, depicted as monkeys, and propagandized as rapists, mirroring the racist images depicted in movies like the 1915 film, “Birth of A Nation (originally called “The Clansman”).”

In February, China’s Ministry of Justice proposed new rules that would broaden the criteria for foreigners to obtain permanent residency- a plan that Beijing said was meant to attract more foreign talent to boost the economy. However, the proposed plan unleashed a wave of online xenophobia, primarily targeting Blacks and accusing them of bringing diseases, like AIDS, to the country, and sleeping with Chinese woman, effectively contaminating the ‘yellow race.’ These types of sentiments are rampant throughout Chinese culture.

Now, I’m sure that many of our Chinese brethren are feeling quite offended by my implications. However, I challenge you to bypass that initial indignation in order to see the huge forest that lies beyond these trees.

Officer Peter Liang (left) with John Chan of the Coalition of Asian Americans for Civil Rights, whose group organized rallies and raised money for Liang’s defense after shooting and killing unarmed Akai Gurley in his building staircase.

When NYPD officer Peter Liang shot and killed unarmed Akai Gurley in a building staircase, because Liang felt ‘startled,’ tens of thousands of Chinese-Americans flooded the streets of New York City in protest of Liang being held accountable for shooting an unarmed black man for no reason. Many Chinese-Americans created WeChat groups to organize the demonstrations and distribute information about the case. WeChat is China’s most popular social media platform, with over half a billion users (it is viewed as a must-have for the Chinese diaspora around the world). Protestors labeled Liang a ‘scapegoat.’ They held up poster boards declaring “Racist Prosecution!” and “Peter Liang Deserves Justice Too!” This was their response to charges being brought against Liang, who not only shot Gurley in the heart, but rendered no aid (and didn’t call an ambulance) as he watched the young man die. During the rallies, Chinese activists’ arguments in defense of Liang were akin to “Well, if white officers can get away with shooting unarmed black guys, Chinese cops should too!” Well, at least, that’s how Black folks heard it. But, what we noticed even more than that, was how visibly absent our Chinese-American brethren were in support of the family of the victim and the community. That matters.

Sadly, it is this kind of absence that Black folks have grown accustomed to when it comes to Chinese inflicted anti-blackness. It is especially disheartening when most anti-black violence committed against us by the Chinese community (especially against Black women) goes unpunished.

Every time you turn a blind eye to anti-blackness in your community, you are complicit. Every time you fail to use your voice to dispel racist dogma, you are complicit. Being an ally isn’t just about creating or participating in diverse spaces. It’s about recognizing and accepting the social responsibility to affect real change by actively pushing back against anti-black sentiment and hatred.

To the naked eye, there has always been a harmonious relationship between the Chinese community and the Black community in the United States. We buy your artificial hair and nails. We patronize your restaurants and grocery stores, pumping billions of dollars into your businesses, all while getting little to no respect in return. Our current relationship is an abusive one. That needs to come to an end. Where we go from here is entirely up to you, because within our current relationship, you reap all the benefits while we do all the work.

Black people remain the most targeted, castigated and oppressed group in the United States. And, apparently, the same applies in China. Therefore, the question I must ask myself as a Black person is, “How in good conscience can I offer allegiance during your brief moment of ‘anti-ness,’ when my daily lived oppression in this country is not only ignored by you, but inflicted by you?”