Stephanie Sy:
Judy, the recent show of solidarity among Black and Asian American activists belies a fraught history between these groups.
For example, during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, racial tensions exploded, with armed Korean-American shopkeepers facing off against rioters. A year before the brutal police beating of Rodney King which set off the uprising, a Korean shop owner had fatally shot a 15 year-old Black girl, Latasha Harlins, for allegedly trying to steal a bottle of juice.
Then, more recently, a Hmong American Minneapolis police officer, Tou Thao, was one of four officers accused of standing by while Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck. Both communities are now working urgently toward greater racial and social justice.
The question is, how might they work side by side?
I’m joined by Tamara Nopper, a sociologist and fellow at New York University’s Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies, and Brenda Stevenson, a professor of history and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Ladies, thank you so much for joining the “NewsHour” for this important conversation.
And, Professor Stevenson, I want to start with you, because the last time I interviewed you, we talked about how a broad racial coalition had emerged after the killing of George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter movement growing.
As we started to see these increased attacks on Asian Americans, I wonder, do you feel that solidarity held, or are there still those fractures among communities of color that we saw in Los Angeles nearly three decades ago?
