The murders of 8 people, including 6 Asian women, by a white supremacist last month still weighs heavy on our hearts. As we struggled to understand the scale of tragedy and the ongoing violence experienced by Asian-Americans, it seemed like no time transpired before the Black community mourned countless more victims of police brutality and racism. As a publication that is co-founded by a queer Black man and queer Asian/Latinx person, Chaos+Comrades is dedicated to driving the intersectional conversations that are crucial for progress.
The rise in anti-Asian hate and anti-Black violence are no abstractions— to many of us, they are a painful lived reality.
Ashton:
Our platform was born out of the desire to tell our own stories. My Blackness precedes me and is the attribute through which the world will always see me. Last year, the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks helped the rest of the world see what the Black community has always felt. While the movement for Black lives grew, the former President incited violence against the Asian community.
Ian:
Just one month ago, I was sitting in the subway when a man kicked the wall next to my face unprovoked— no one said anything or tried to help. Although the narrative has often been that our communities can’t coexist, I think now is a crucial time to unite around this sense of danger and fear we feel from just existing in our bodies in America. I hope that together, we can learn more about the long history of the Black and Asian struggle against white supremacy. Not just during the Civil Rights Era and the Vietnam War, but on the ground every day.
Two years ago, we produced a docu-series called “Just a Preference” that launched C+C. Each episode explored the ways in which white supremacy shows up in all facets of our lives, however insidiously, in everything from our jobs to our sexual encounters. Some episodes highlighted cross-racial conversations that opened our own eyes to how much unites us.
The real work will happen on the ground and it’s up to all of us to use our talents, whatever they may be, to advance the cause. We are at a pivotal moment that will define the trajectory of our movements and we must choose unity or remain divided. We must hold each other, appreciate one another, and see each other as what we are: co-conspirators and comrades.