Here, we've compiled some questions for you to ponder and reflect upon. We urge you think deeply about how anti-Blackness has been a part of your South Asian-American experience.
- How do ideas of racism differ between South Asian Americans and South Asians living in South Asia? Why?
- How have family members or close friends expressed their anti-Blackness ideas? How did you respond to them?
- Have you ever been a victim to colorism? Have you ever benefited from colorism?
- Have you experienced racism? If not, why do you think you haven’t?
- How did 9/11 affect your family and life in America? Did it?
- What do you recall as being your first socialization around Blackness? What is the first thing you remember learning or experiencing with or about people of African descent? What messages did you receive?
- Has anti-Blackness sentiments ever made you feel powerful/safe? Why? Dissect that moment.
- Who are the two people you couldn’t imagine having a conversation about anti-Blackness about? Who is it hardest to confront? Why?
- What are a couple strategies you can use to confront and interrupt anti-Blackness and racism in the moment?
- How do you hope the South Asian community will change in the next few generations? What messages do you want your future South Asian children to receive?
- If possible, ask your parent to tell their experiences of racism. How do their personal anecdotes affect their biases?
- Has a parent ever created a rule that expressed anti-Black sentiments? How did you respond to it?
- What do you think it is necessary for our community to do to dismantle our rampant anti-Blackness?