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Solidarity Framework

Asian Minnesotan Alliance for Justice
Solidarity Framework

What We Believe

White Supremacy and Structural Racism, which are the systems, legacies, and cultures created in US American society to benefit whiteness, are the root causes of many of our inequities today. From the conception of the US, this dominant culture of White Supremacy and Structural Racism has created systems and institutions that have devastated communities of color, particularly Indigenous and Black communities, and benefited wealthy white communities. These systems include policing, the prison industrial complex, overseas and across-borders militarism, the healthcare system, the housing system, city planning, transportation systems, the immigration system, the education system, and most notably, our corporate capitalist system.

As Asian Americans, we face a unique role in the context of a racialized America.  From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2, the surveillance of South Asians and Muslims after 9/11, and the continued deportation of Southeast Asians today, many groups of Asian Americans have historically faced systems in the US designed to exclude and exploit them. At the same time, many have also benefited from the system created by White Supremacy and Structural Racism. This system has labeled Asian Americans as “Model Minorities,” allowing us the benefit of being positioned closer to whiteness at the expense of others and driving a wedge between BIPOC communities. Yet, as anti-Asian sentiment during COVID-19 has shown, Asian Americans only benefit from this proximity when the system deems them useful, otherwise they are expendable. For all these reasons and more, we have a duty and vested interest with other BIPOC communities to dismantle these systems of White Supremacy and Structural Racism and fight for liberation.

What Solidarity Means to Us

  • Using our diverse stories of US immigration, integration, and assimilation — in the larger contexts of colonialism, imperialism, flights from social conflicts and economic troubles in our respective homelands, and so on — to understand systemic oppression in the US.
  • Standing united with and being accomplices to other BIPOC communities in taking action to uplift all of our communities.
  • Taking ownership of studying and unpacking our own histories and biases, whether they are rooted in oppressive and discriminatory cultures and systems, or not.
  • Having a vested interest in dismantling white supremacist systems that aim to keep us divided socially and economically.
  • Believing and trusting in the agency of Black and Indigenous leadership, much like we believe and trust in our own agency,

What We Are Fighting For: Shared Liberation

We must build a new world free from these systems of White Supremacy and Structural Racism. A world where we are celebrated for who we are, where we feel safe, and where we feel like we belong. A world where we can be proud of our many identities and benefit from our diversity of talents and experiences. And a world where we prioritize and take care of each other. For these reasons, we fight for a world where:

  • Basic needs, such as housing, food, health care, water, education of all types, good air, are a human right.
  • There are equitable access and redistribution of resources and power
  • People are valued holistically and are seen with dignity and respect 
  • Our communities are recognized, celebrated, understood, for who we are, especially those of us who are queer and trans, those of us who have a disability, those of us who are Muslim, those of us who are undocumented, and those of us who are poor.
  • We are free of stereotypes
  • The education system recognizes our histories and contributions
  • The American narrative is inclusive of all lives and voices
  • Non-violence and equal application of judicial processes
  • Physical institutions accurately represent community demographics, and are for such diverse community members;
  • There are free and open borders and our immigration policy prioritizes the need for families to be safe and intact.

How We Plan to Move Towards Shared Liberation

(Can be divided by the different risks & levels of commitments associated with different acts of activism & civil disobedience)

  • Political education through teach-ins, workshops, community conversations, etc.
  • Civic engagement through canvassing, door knocking, phone banking, etc.
  • Policy advocacy at local and national levels
  • Relationship, community, and momentum building with BIPOC- and other AAPI-led organizations through:
    • Mutual aid
    • Healing
    • Rallies
    • Promotion of BIPOC and AAPI arts, literature, and other works
    • Public letters of support

To learn more about the Asian Minnesotan Alliance for Justice, please contact info@caalmn.org to learn more.