What I learned as a new immigrant to the U.S. and my commitments to #Black Lives Matter

I have recently immigrated from South Korea where the culture remains widely homogeneous to this day as the immigration rate is a lot lower than that of Western countries; as of 2016, foreign residents account for a mere 3.4% of the total population. The Black Lives Matter movement across the country motivated me to ponder upon what this entails and what my perspective as a recent Asian immigrant should be.

I was grateful that my current company committed Juneteenth (June 19th, 2020) to a diversity and inclusion training day where the whole day was packed with absolutely valuable lessons from leaders who taught how people can be better allies with the Black community. Along with that, I have been trying to educate myself with some online resources on racism.

These are the main takeaways I want to share:

1. It’s time to take action and speak up to support the Black community — sympathy or empathy is not enough.

The current Black Lives Matter movement has led many to feel sad (i.e. sympathy), and have motivated many to put themselves in others’ shoes to experience the pain and frustration (i.e. empathy).

Today’s movement has made leapfrog progress for many (including me, who did not leave room to reflect on this particular issue in the past), but we should not stop there.

“People who are not black can no longer sit on the margins. They can no longer just express their sympathy: those are shallow words,”

Arielle Newton, a 23-year-old black blogger said at a rally in Harlem in New York City (link). Hackman says in her article that some white people may be sitting on the sidelines out of discomfort over making faux pas — but they may need to get over that anxiety to help defeat injustice.

In times where we are unsure whether to speak up or not, Audre Lorde, an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist, offers an extraordinary nugget of wisdom:

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.”

2. United States of Amnesia: the only way to not repeat the same mistake is to learn how to correct the past wrongs and prevent them from happening again.

Gore Vidal, an American writer, once said “We live in the United States of Amnesia.” This phrase is ever more telling in today’s times where we see the past incidents of police brutality imposed on Black people repeat itself over and over again.

Black men are 2.5 times more likely than white men to be killed by police during their lifetime (Edwards & Esposito, 2019). And in another study, Black people who were fatally shot by police seemed to be twice as likely as white people to be unarmed (Nix & Byers, 2017). There are other shreds of evidence showing police cruelty toward marginalized groups, especially to Black and Latino men.

America has experienced similar incidents like the recent killing of George Floyd over the decades and it is disappointing to see how history repeats itself where the marginalized groups have to to fight to be treated fairly. During the diversity and inclusion training, I’ve heard three people who have lost their beloved family members by police; it was heartbreaking to hear the desperation, frustration, and fear they had to go through. I am unable to fathom the full depth and breadth of emotion they experienced, but my tears swelled up as I related to the hopelessness and anger.

I wish to live in America where everyone is treated equally regardless of the color of the skin, sexual orientation, age, gender, or any demographic factors that define the identity of a human being. No one should be afraid to not behave as one’s true self to adjust and fit into the society. Many Black people had to tone down their behaviors or languages to not discomfort others.

America is founded upon the diverse groups of immigrants who share their unique perspectives on the same issue, and that’s the core value of America that should be cherished and flourished to make America truly America.

With these recent learnings and reflections, I commit to:

1. Speak up in the face of injustice though I am afraid

I have been afraid to speak up because my words might discomfort others or cause awkwardness. This is not only constrained to racial injustice, but to my everyday lives where I see someone say something offensive. I will continue feeling afraid, but will rather feel afraid by taking action rather than staying silent and feel afraid.

I have been in situations where I heard someone say disrespectful to others, and have stayed silent because I did not want to rock the boat. I kept on focusing on what action I should take when the mistreatment was imposed upon me, but I should also act for others to be better allies.

2. Continue learning about the issue and make progress

I might be a drop in a big wave, but this wave will slip into an ocean of people where it will continue to erode the cliffs of white supremacy and injustice. It will take a long time and cannot be done alone. My actions might seem trivial at times, but I will continue to believe that these small steps we take courageously in our daily lives will lead to a big difference; it will bash out into the cliffs and our future generation will enjoy the world away from the fight, hatred, and injustice.