Tackling Anti-Blackness in the Chinatown Community

About 15 people met at the Chicago Public Library’s Chinatown branch for People Matter’s first monthly meeting.

	By Carolyn Chen, Reporter, The Real Chi

Community members and advocates shared insights and pushed for conversations about tackling anti-blackness in the Chinatown community on Jan. 27. About 15 people met at the Chicago Public Library’s Chinatown branch for the first monthly community meetings.

The meeting was arranged by People Matter, an organization with a mission to uplift, unearth, and untether people everywhere. Angela Lin and Consuela Hendricks, co-funders of People Matter started the Tackling Anti-Blackness in the Chinatown Community (TACC) campaign.

“Anti-blackness is global as well as local, and does not just affect black people but Chinese people and everyone else.” Angela Lin said.

“I think it's critical to enact intentional and collaborative efforts to combat anti-blackness, giving space to the black community members to take the lead.”

Anti-blackness cases are frequently witnessed by community members in the area. Meredith Chambers, who has been working in Chinatown for over 25 years, noticed that the neighborhood watch groups sometimes target black neighbors, reporting to the police for no reasonable causes. As an early childhood educator, Chambers was also faced with Asian students who refuse to talk to black teachers because of their skin color.

“Many Chinese people in Chinatown limit their interaction and assume stereotypes to be the personality of their black community members,” Lin said.

Many Chinese people are also limited to services provided by organizations with a primarily Chinese client base. “The Chinese services are therefore overwhelmed and unable to provide proficient services, which include legal services, health care, and social services,” Lin said.

Andy Li, an active member in the TACC campaign, acknowledged that the anti-blackness and anti-Chinese racism in the community are intertwined in the racist history of the area.

“I think it's critical to enact intentional and collaborative efforts to combat anti-blackness, giving space to the black community members to take the lead.” Li said.

“Anti-blackness is global as well as local, and does not just affect black people but Chinese people and everyone else.”

Two students from University of Chicago both recognized that having intergenerational conversations within Chinese parents about black people has been difficult because of the widespread discrimination among the older generation.

“We cannot talk about our black friends. I just feel a loss of language,” James Zhang, one of the University of Chicago students, said.

People Matter plans to host discussions which will provide a safe space for young people to develop the skills and knowledge when addressing anti-blackness issues.

Lin said they hope to provide young people like Zhang with the Chinese vocabulary on the history and impacts of anti-blackness. 

To break down the language barrier, Zhang suggested creating comics and hanging them up in public places. “Conversations are definitely needed but there should be ways that are more accessible,” said Zhang.