South Asians For Black Lives: Resources to Develop Your Anti-Racism and Racial Consciousness




In the last week, South Asian Americans have shown up in a big way to the fight against anti-Black racism. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have worked to incite an awakening and call for racial justice within the South Asian community. This awakening is apparent on Instagram, with thousands and thousands of South Asians using the #southasiansforblacklives hashtag. When I first started using the hashtag #southasiansforblacklives on Instagram, it was a lonely space, with only one or two other people sharing the hashtag. In the last week, this hashtag has been a vital way for thousands upon thousands of South Asians to connect and engage in virtual activism and allyship with Black Americans. 

As someone who has been committed to disrupting anti-Black bias for over fifteen years, I feel hopeful with the new South Asian American voices and bodies that have joined this movement. This is the time for us to work collectively as a community to help dismantle the system of anti-Black racism. In order to do this, it is imperative that our activism goes beyond posting and hashtag. Additionally, it is even more important that we as a community make a commitment to keep showing up to this fight when it’s no longer trendy to do so. If you are posting and vocalizing your care and concern for Black lives now- I hope that you will be doing so in two months, one year, and even five years from now.  This moment in history will pass and when it does, it'll be even more important to show up in solidarity for our Black neighbors, friends, colleagues, and citizens.

To help ensure that we as South Asian Americans are prepared to fight anti-Black racism from an informed perspective, I am sharing resources that can help equip us to be agents of change who can be effective in disrupting anti-Blackness within our own families and South Asian communities. These resources have helped me to be able to examine my own anti-Black biases and develop my own racial consciousness and anti-racist lens and I hope they will do the same for you.

Feel free to email me at cindu@shaktitraining.com with any questions you might have.

In Solidarity,
Cindu


Timely resources that can help guide South Asian allyship: 




Organizations to learn From: 


Donate to these organizations that are working to change anti-Black policies and laws: 


Black Owned Accounts to Follow on Instagram: 


South Asian Social Media Accounts to Follow: 

Malaylees for Black Lives  (for my Malayalee folks)



Readings that have helped develop my own anti-racism/racial consciousness: 







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