Racism/Intolerance Accessible Gallery
2020 will be remembered not only for COVID-19, but also the growing movement to stop racism. Asian Americans experienced a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes from those who blamed them for the coronavirus. Images reflected fear or the difficulty of safely celebrating being Asian American. Others remembered historical racism: the incarceration of Japanese Americans because of EO9066, or having to hear racist jokes while fighting in the war in Vietnam. There were reminders that intolerance and insensitivity takes many forms, including seeing those with limited lung capacity as being less worthy of saving, over those without chronic conditions. The killing of George Floyd and the ongoing killing of innocent Black lives added fuel to supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. There were images responding to institutional and systemic racism, police violence, and the disproportionately negative impact on Black communities.
Title of Photo: poster on street, glass broken
Ethnicity: Asian
Date Image was Captured: 6/1/20
Location Image was Captured: New York, NY
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
The photograph shows a poster on the side of a public phone booth on a street in New York City. It depicts a close up portrait of a young Asian woman with the caption "I should have the right to take pride in my heritage without being told to go back to my country." At the bottom of the poster, the text reads "You Do Have the Right" and is sponsored by the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Mayor. The glass covering the poster is almost completely broken, with shattered pieces along the bottom of the frame.
What does this image mean to you?
I thought the poster image was powerful - I'm sorry that I don't know who the designer/photographer is. But I thought it was a great response to pushing back on the ignorant, racist characterization of COVID19 by Trump. The reading of the image gets even more complex with the broken glass caused by violent non-protesters in the aftermath of the peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Trump and his administration have been terrible in their response to COVID19 in so many horrifying ways. There isn't enough room here to explain my dismay at the damage that he has done to our nation, the environment, and our moral compass. I am desperately hoping for a change in leadership in the November election. As Thomas Friedman wrote in an op ed piece in the New York Times, in stark contrast to Trump, Joe Biden's campaign motto could simply be: Respect science. Respect nature. Respect each other.
Title of Photo: Untitled #2 (From There, To Here)
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Name: Sydney Walsh
Ethnicity: Chinese
Age: 19
Date Image was Captured: 3/20/20
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
This image is a self portrait that depicts how I feel as a Chinese adoptee.
What does this image mean to you?
This photograph was made for my project From There, To Here, which is an on-going project in response to my experience as a Chinese adoptee, as well as others who have experienced interracial and intercultural adoption. During COVID-19 one thought has been stirring questions in my mind: What if my birth parents don't make it through the pandemic? What if they're already gone because of it? I already have uncertain feelings about my cultural history and identity, but when I heard news about the coronavirus in China, I couldn't help but wonder how my birth parents were being affected and if I would ever get the chance to meet them. Thus I decided to dig into old family archives to hopefully make some connection with my ethnic heritage.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I want to see more open minds in the world. COVID-19 has shown me that it doesn't matter that I grew up in America, because on the outside I look Chinese. I am scared to go out in public in fear of being harassed or physically harmed, as are many other Asian Americans right now. The pandemic is occurring during AAPI Heritage Month and it's one of the hardest times to celebrate being Asian in a white majority country. It reminds us that our "model minority" status is conditional. I want people to stop assuming that Asians are "dirty" or "unsanitary" because that's not true. People need to stick together as humans during this time, and after too, rather than label certain ethnic groups as "others".
Title of Photo: Beginning's End
Name: Mark Osaki
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Age: 68
Date Image was Captured: 5/27/42
Time Image was Captured: 8:00:00 AM
Location Image was Captured: Japanese Relocation Camp at Tule Lake, California
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
BEGINNING’S END
Tule Lake, California 1942
In the photo my mother is twenty years old.
She is leaning against the railing
of a shoddily built prison barrack
wondering if the climate
could get any more hostile.
She is very pretty;
her lush black curls fall around her face,
she is wearing her best flowered cotton skirt,
and her slender legs disappear like stilts
into bobby sox and saddle shoes.
She thinks this must be punishment
for some unfathomable karmic sin:
that all your life can be confined
into two suitcases and relocated
across a remote California desert.
Yet she is smiling past the camera’s static eye,
knowing how very much will depend
on the shadowed figure in the distance
with a hand already waving in recognition;
or perhaps making a fist.
What does this image mean to you?
The forceful and unconstitutional imprisonment of my mother due to anti-Japanese hysteria during WWII.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Demagogues, unscrupulous politicians and outright racists seize on the populace’s fears and vulnerability by identifying a foreign menace and/or minority group as the cause of their troubles. An all too familiar pattern is occurring with COVID-19 worldwide.
Title of Photo: The Fish Heads
Name: Mark Osaki
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Age: 68
Date Image was Captured: 6/6/19
Time Image was Captured: 12:00:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: San Francisco
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
THE FISH HEADS
Their faces are flat profiles:
eyes frozen, glaring dumbly,
mouths gaping, stacked in rows
on powdered ice below the sign,
Huen’s Grocery.
Why are they looking at us
that way, she asks? I smile, tightly
pulling her arm.
What do I know of any race
that should save it in her mind?
We pass quickly, as though walking away
moves us beyond it. Still
pretending distance makes anything
remote, I look back
and see their turned eyes following,
lips pulled down as if by hooks.
What does this image mean to you?
Tribalism and our reptilian brain produces toxic resistance to interracial relations.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Perhaps the discrimination faced by COVID-19 victims will make them stronger as they reach out to others who have experienced injustice and ignorance.
Title of Photo: 45's White House: a gated community
Name: Janet Namkung
Ethnicity: Korean
Age: 31
Date Image was Captured: 6/5/20
Time Image was Captured: 8:27:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: The White House
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
A black and white photo of the White House seen through one of the holes of a black make-shift fence. Between the fence and White House, there are lit up floodlights, trees, and a statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse, standing on its rear legs. Behind the White House, you can see the Washington Monument on the left side.
What does this image mean to you?
45 is sending a clear message: he does not support Black Lives, he does not understand injustices, and he is AFRAID of what the people are capable of when given the right motivation. He would rather hide behind a wall instead of addressing the cries and pain of THE people. THE people that he is supposed to protect, serve, and guide.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
More and more murders of Black Americans by the hands of law enforcement officers are being seen, captured, and shared. I hope these protests do not lose their steam and continues to show the power of people rising up for what they believe in. Another Black life cannot be lost by the hands of racists, white supremacists, and those who take their privileges for granted.
Title of Photo: Make Sure You Can Run
Name: Stacey Shigaya
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Age: 57
Date Image was Captured: 5/26/20
Time Image was Captured: 3:00:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: My home in SE Denver
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
A bright pink pair of athletic shoes sit on the floor next to a blue homemade face mask.
What does this image mean to you?
With the outbreak of COVID-19, I've seen and heard enough instances of discrimination against Asians to make me angry, sad, disappointed and scared. When I leave my house, I wear shoes that I can run in - to avoid potential name calling or, God forbid, a violent situation. I never thought this level of fear would arise in 2020: fear of the ignorant and hateful discrimination that echoes the treatment that my parents faced in WWII as they were shipped off to concentration camps. I realize my situation is not on the same level as what they suffered and for that I am truly grateful. However, the question continues to ripple through our country: Why? As in “Why are people so hateful?” “Why can’t we learn from the mistakes of the past?” “Why can’t we see and focus on what all we have in common?” “Why can’t we live and let live?”
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I would like those who think their civil liberties are being infringed upon to open their eyes, ears, hearts and minds to the true definition of what it means to be free and have freedom. Are they hungry? Do they have a roof over their heads? Can they read? Has anyone confiscated their belongings and made them move to a converted race track that smells of manure? A sense of entitlement is not being infringed upon during this COVID-19 crisis. It's time we all recognized that fact.
Title of Photo: Disability is an Intersection
Name: Grace Tsao
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Date Image was Captured: 5/29/20
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
Pictured is an Asian American woman with light/medium skin and shoulder length black hair wearing a Frida Kahlo cloth mask, large hoop earrings, and a turquoise t-shirt with a drawing of women of various races, ethnicities, and disabilities with their fists raised. The words “Disability is an Intersection” is written in black across the top of the shirt. In the background is a wall tapestry on an off-white wall depicting an Asian pagoda, a peacock, a mountain, and a red flower and a white wind chime with shapes of cats made of shell hanging in front of it. She is between two white doors and the black armrests and headrest of her wheelchair are partially visible.
What does this image mean to you?
It has been difficult being a member of two marginalized communities being targeted during this pandemic. As a person with a disability with limited lung function it is hard enough knowing that there is a virus that may be able to kill you without the pervasive racism and ableism that is permeating through society. Asian Americans that look like me are being blamed for the coronavirus and have been viciously assaulted with vile and violent racist attacks, both verbally and physically in hate crimes and incidents throughout the nation. Discussions and efforts concerning medical rationing during this crisis that deems my life as less worthy of saving over someone without chronic conditions devalues people like me as human beings. Being a disabled Chinese American woman during this time in our history has taken a toll on the state of my mental health. But this image shows that I am resilient and will get through this just as I have so many other difficult journeys in life.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I hope that the disparities that have been highlighted and that have always existed will continue to be at the forefront of our nation’s consciousness. Vulnerable groups like seniors, people with disabilities, and members of Black and Brown communities have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has also highlighted our lack of a national safety net. Having universal healthcare, universal basic income, paid sick leave, and guaranteed childcare is a need not a want, this pandemic has proved this. I hope that our nation will begin to address these needs in a substantial way. I also hope that things like working remotely, telehealth and teletherapy visits, and having access to activities, meetings, events, and conferences in an online platform will continue long after the crisis is over. These are things that the disability community has long requested but are often denied, has now been realized in the COVID-19 era since the rest of society needs it. The devastating effects of COVID-19 on the nursing home population also illustrates the importance of providing home health and personal assistant services so that people can live in the community. I hope that we can move toward this goal.
Title of Photo: February 1, 2020 Notes
Name: Maxine Bell
Instagram: @maxinearts
Ethnicity: Mixed Japanese American
Age: 20
Date Image was Captured: 2/1/20
Time Image was Captured: 2:15:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: Boston Public Library
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
My image is a screen shot of my iPhone notes from February 1, 2020, there’s a small black pencil sketch of myself wearing a blue mask and red earrings. Below reads the hand written text, “When will I not be an alien, a virus, a myth, a fascination, a threat, someone the world wishes to silence?”.
What does this image mean to you?
An unconventional photo, a screen shot to show my exact thoughts in the beginning of the corona virus outbreak in the US. I felt the shift in the air as I sat in public. Extra cautious of my actions, the actions of others around me, and I had just spoke with my friends about the Asian Australian man who died because nobody wanted to give him CPR two days prior. The shift in the air while intense, was and always has been a familiar one.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I want this Asian American history to not be lost in the present or in the future. We must continue to break silence and make sure our lived experiences are known. There’s a rhetoric that this is the first time where Asians are facing racism. All Asians know this is not true. We are stripped from the stories of the mass lynching of Chinese American men, the no-no boys during WWII, and the life of Vincent Chin in our textbooks. If we never learn our history, we will continue to convince ourselves that our forced silences are meant to be, and that our daily experiences of being called a “chink” “gook” “jap” are meant to be dismissed as simple bird sounds.
Title of Photo: Protestors on 16th
Name: Janet Namkung
Ethnicity: Korean
Age: 31
Date Image was Captured: 6/5/20
Time Image was Captured: 5:51:00 PM
Location Image was Captured:
16th Street NW in DC proper
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
A black and white photo shot through a wet, bus window. A view of 20+ protestors with signs supporting Black Lives Matter, all lined up on a busy sidewalk with historical buildings, homes, and trees in the background.
What does this image mean to you?
On my way to a protest to defund MPD (DC Police Dept.), I saw protestors lined up covering the sidewalks of 16th Street NW in support of BLM. I was on a bus going downtown on the road that leads straight to the White House. That day was particularly difficult. While the protestors were coming out in full force, the city was hit by hard rainfall that resulted in flooding. But it was incredibly encouraging to see so many people still out to protest, volunteer at food stations, and just be there to support.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
More and more murders of Black Americans by the hands of law enforcement officers are being seen, captured, and shared. I hope these protests do not lose their steam and continues to show the power of people rising up for what they believe in. Another Black life cannot be lost by the hands of racists, white supremacists, and those who take their privileges for granted.
Title of Photo: Family Reunion
Name: Mark Osaki
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Age: 68
Date Image was Captured: 5/17/74
Time Image was Captured: 10:00:00 AM
Location Image was Captured: I Core, South Vietnam
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
FAMILY REUNION
It was always worst
just before we disembarked,
while the Hueys hovered
hurling grass sideways like sleet.
Pointing to me someone shouted,
Throw him out first,
one look and the gooks
will think we’re friendly.
That’s right fellas,
the CO laughed,
this boy has kin
out there.
It amused me too
to imagine someone hiding
below us in the grass
with my photo in his wallet.
It was a joke to be shared
with everyone
we killed.
What does this image mean to you?
Flying above rice paddies searching for people who look like me to shoot.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Asians are being singled out for acts of violence as responsible for COVID-19. It's only a matter of time before a gunman opens automatic fire of a gathering of Asians.
Title of Photo: Asian Black Unity
Name: Jessica Li
Ethnicity: Hong Kong
Date Image was Captured: 6/7/20
Time Image was Captured: 12:45:00 PM
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
East Asian woman standing on the stairs, holding a microphone and talking.
What does this image mean to you?
I'm talking at an Oakland Chinatown clean up event about the anti-blackness in the Asian community and the need to support black lives matter. Chinatown was looted and vandalized after the protestors were infiltrated during a protest in downtown Oakland. Over 300+ members of both the Asian and Black community in Oakland came out to help clean up Chinatown and demonstrated how we need to be united at this time.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
We all need to be anti-racists and eliminate anti-blackness within Asian Pacific American communities.
Title of Photo: #Whitecoatsforblacklives
Name: Jennifer Nguyen
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Age: 33
Date Image was Captured: 6/6/20
Time Image was Captured: 10:03:00 AM
Location Image was Captured: Seattle City Hall, Seattle, Washington
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
A crowd of thousands of healthcare workers, therapists, social workers, doctors, and nurses standing together in masks in the street, on the sidewalk, and peacefully protesting to stand against racism and the injustices that the Black community has faced.
What does this image mean to you?
The Coronavirus has caused death, pain, anxiety and stress and will impact us forever. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the pandemic has brought out the fire of this country. The black community has cried out for help and we are not going to sit quiet and let it happen anymore.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I believe that COVID-19 has caused folks to spend more time inside and in doing so, people are more impacted by media and what they see and have seen the exposed racism and brutality of the police. It has been a distressing few months and if the protests can help to embark positive change for our Black community, we are starting to make change.
Title of Photo: 21400D
Name: Allyson Goto
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Age: 24
Date Image was Captured: 6/14/20
Time Image was Captured: 8:29:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: Home
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
Torso of a woman wearing a black hoodie. Printed on the chest of the hoodie in white lettering are the words "Proud Descendant of 21400D". There is also barb wire running down one arm of the hoodie. (21400D refers to her grandmother's incarceration number during WWII and the mass incarceration of Japanese/Japanese Americans in the United States)
What does this image mean to you?
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic I have been thinking a lot about my grandmother and her experience growing up as Japanese American in the United States and her incarceration experience as a teenager. I first started thinking about her when COVID-19 had just begun. While I was in conversations with friends about the xenophobia they were experiencing and the heightened anxiety I began feeling when going out in public, I remembered that this type trauma and unease wasn't something new for us. Even for me, generations removed, the feeling is familiar and easily resurfaces emerging from the stories of racism we heard growing up and our lived existence in a void of things (culture, language, pictures, stories, etc.) that were stolen by the pain of the incarceration experience. I chose to take a picture wearing a hoodie with my grandmother’s incarceration identification number as an effort to reclaim a narrative that was dominated by shame for her, but has become one of inspiration for me.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I would like to see massive systemic change. COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color due to the unjust systems that disadvantage black and brown folx in every facet of their life including access to health care, housing, food access, etc. We must dismantle the racist institutions and structures that have created these environments and redistribute resources to programs that serve our communities and are rooted in equity and healing.
Title of Photo: I miss you
Name: DJ Ida
Ethnicity: Japanese American
Date Image was Captured: 6/2/20
Time Image was Captured: 11:00:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: my dining room
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
This is a picture of my mom and dad next to a small Buddhist shrine. On the wall is a poster of EO 9066 and on the other wall is a picture of my family - my dad holding a picture of my mom, my sibs, their partners, my husband, my nephew and niece. There is also a small Buddhist shrine and incense burner as well as a small Japanese folk toy of a monkey riding on the back of a red ox which I love because I am year of the ox and mom is year of the monkey.
What does this image mean to you?
COVID-19 has forever changed our lives. Staying at home, social distancing, zoom calls, wearing masks, ordering cheap pizzas on Tuesday nights, and, watching endless reruns are the new norm. I have connected with all sorts of people via zoom but I miss being able to visit friends and family whenever I want. Mom and Dad passed away a number of years ago but I still miss them a lot. This picture also includes an EO9066 poster which is the reason my mother was forced to leave California and ended up in Colorado, a small Buddhist shrine and a picture of my sibs and dad holding a picture of mom who had already passed away. I find myself constantly thinking I should be doing more, advocate for mental health, fight racism, etc. but at the end of the day, when the house is quiet, and I feel pulled in many directions, I light some incense, think of mom and dad and I find the peace and quiet that is hard to find when things feel so hectic.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
COVID-19 has changed our lives in so many ways. It has forced us to do things differently and in the process we can hopefully get clarity on what is truly important and understand what we don't need in terms of material possessions. Maybe we can discover new ways of working virtually, reducing traffic and improving the quality of air. There has been tremendous pain and suffering but hopefully this is also the tipping point for making social change. There is international support for Black Lives Matters and an intolerance for racism, including hate crimes against Asian Americans, bigotry and inequality in all forms. There is hopefully a growing appreciation and kindness towards each other and those who keep our lives going, not just the doctors and nurses, but also the grocery store clerks, the postal workers and small restaurant owners. Hopefully in the midst of all the divisiveness, there is also a collective desire to make things better.
Title of Photo: Black Lives Matter - Artist Unknown
Name: Courtney Ozaki
Ethnicity: Japanese
Age: 36
Date Image was Captured: 6/3/20
Time Image was Captured: 8:45:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: Denver, CO
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
It’s after dark and a Black Lives Matter mural on the side of a Denver building near the Capitol is colored with a rainbow heart that states “your struggle is our struggle” and pays tribute to George Floyd and other black lives that were taken too soon.
What does this image mean to you?
Art is a platform that speaks broadly and powerfully. I took this picture following spending 4 hours at a vigil for George Floyd in Denver’s Civic Center Park; inspired by young Black voices activating change. Peaceful protests continue in Denver. We as Asian Americans need to stand up and speak up for Black lives here and everywhere, now and always.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
We need to spend our time wisely and not waste it. Take the opportunity to learn something that will challenge our perspectives and help us to grow empathy and compassion.
Title of Image: Overwhelmed
Name: Marie Miller
Ethnicity: 1/2 Japanese and 1/2 African American
Date Image was Captured: 6/2/20
Time Image was Captured: 8:32:00 PM
Location Image was Captured: Denver, CO
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
The subject is the masked face of an Asian American woman superimposed against the black and white backdrop a peaceful, yet passionate Denver protest for George Floyd. The mask itself is of the American Flag signifying unity. The woman has witnessed much in her lifetime and she is gazing upward as a sign of hope knowing that we will get through this period in American history by working together with each other.
What does this image mean to you?
This image reflects the overwhelming turmoil experienced prior to and in the aftermath of a graphic and unjustified killing of an African American man named George Floyd by White police officers. The egregious event was captured live and replayed on news stations around the world sparking protests and riots. The National Guard in some states were activated, along with police in riot gear, a curfew was established. Racial tensions were heightened between White Americans and African Americans (due to the public outcry in the George Floyd incident) and also Asian communities. Because the Coronavirus emanated from Wuhan, China, people immediately attached the Chinese reference to all Asian Americans and this led to racist behaviors. This boiling pot of events led to palpable stress worldwide. In the background, contributing to the stress, Denver was recently in lockdown due to the steep rising of Coronavirus cases and deaths—the US held the world record for the most Coronavirus cases. Many overworked essential personnel didn't have proper Personal Protection Equipment they needed to do their jobs, not enough ventilators or hospital beds. The problem extended to morgues and the storage of dead bodies. Safety masks were in short supply for the general public. Grocery shelves were bare and it was difficult to find toilet paper, hand sanitizer, alcohol, meats and canned goods. Food lines were massive in many states. We witnessed hoarding and price gouging. Families were separated due to the quarantine and people couldn’t attend funerals of loved ones.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Based on my experience with COVID-19, I’d like to see changes in the government, including the full re-establishment and funding of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I would like the US to elevate the importance of the CDC and to use the CDC’s expertise on the world stage should something like this ever happens again. I would like the offices responsible for the US stockpiles to be active, monitoring our stockpiles, replacing and adding to the stockpiles as necessary based on world events and intelligence data. I would like to see an administration that follows the advice of his/her experts and a fully staffed administration. I would also like for people holding leadership positions model the behaviors that have been recommended to their people so there is no confusion between what is said and what needs to happen. I would like a complete overhaul in the culture of law enforcement offices with regard to systemic racism and for them to have a strong emphasis in leadership at all levels. I would like for the disestablishment of systemic racism in all agencies to be a top priority for the US and worldwide. I would like a national dialogue on race. I would like help for the many healthcare
professionals that has PTSD over their experiences in the war rooms the used to be hospitals.
Title of Photo: Riding Despite COVID Racism
Name: Pata Suyemoto
Ethnicity: Mixed heritage Japanese-American
Date Image was Captured: 5/15/2020
Time Image was Captured: 11:00:00 AM
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
This is an image of an Asian woman in a bike helmet, sunglasses, and a mask made of Asian material. There are lilacs in the background.
What does this image mean to you?
This image captures a determination to be in the world despite the racism that I have experienced during the time of COVID. Riding my bicycle gives me solace, but feels risky now as an Asian woman. It means that I will not be afraid.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
I live in a country where systemic racism and oppression are the norm and this must be changed. As AAPIs, we need to build coalitions with the Black, Latinx, and Native communities to fight the injustice that we experience in solidarity. We cannot sit passively and silent while others are oppressed. We also need to understand that the model minority is a myth that has been used against us to pit us against other people of color. As AAPIs we need to stand up and fight for racial equity and justice.
Title of Photo: Reservoir
Ethnicity: Filipinx American
Date Image was Captured: 6/3/20
Time Image was Captured: 7:38:00 PM
How would you describe your image, to someone who may be visually impaired?
It's a landscape picture of the sun setting reflecting on a huge body of water with outlines of trees surrounding the entire horizon.
What does this image mean to you?
Walking around the reservoir everyday has helped my mental health tremendously during this difficult time. Being able to zone out have helped me escape briefly from all the uncertainties and the reality of white supremacy in this country. This picture reminds me of "Isang Bagsak," which translates in Tagalog as "one fall." Filipinx and Mexican farm workers in the 1960s came together to form the United Farm Workers. At the end of each day they would do a unity clap and shout "isang bagsak" which means that today's struggle ends and tomorrow is another day of struggle. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, it is our duty to realize their dreams of a just society.
Based on your COVID-19 experience, what would you like to see changed in your world, that may or may not be related to your image?
Black lives matter, defund and abolish the police state and system, reparations for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), end of capitalism, imperialism, and white supremacy.