Dear readers,
We are the 2022 Organizing Fellows (OFs) for Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP). Our cohort consists of Pa Cheng, Khai Hoang, and Lily Dutton. This year, we are conducting in-depth research on the complex relationships Asian Americans have with police and community safety. We deemed this to be a critical topic to explore as anti-Asian sentiment and violence has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AAOP believes in the intrinsic value of all human beings; that all people deserve dignity, respect, and life no matter the labor they put out, language they speak, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, or otherwise. Through that end, AAOP understands that current institutions like the police and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) uphold the status quo at the expense of marginalized lives, especially Black and brown folks. These institutions were created on a foundation of white supremacist and imperialist ideologies that pit communities of color against each other.
We know that these institutions cannot be reformed, but must be dismantled and divested. Media often refers to our system of policing and public safety as “broken,” but America’s public safety system was designed to keep the people with power in power at the expense of Black and brown communities, Asian folks, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and other marginalized communities. A system working as it was designed to do cannot be fixed; it must be abolished.
For more on police abolition, we encourage you to read our Abolition series written by former Content Creator Intern Siena Iwaski-Miller:
Abolition: A Conversation with serena, Filmmaker and Activist
ABOUT OUR VIDEO
Calls for changes in regards to state-based community safety measures and police systems have existed since the 20th century. However, in 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a national debate about policing and how it affects Black and brown bodies. In 2020, the aftermath of the uprising due to George Floyd’s murder brought Minneapolis and St. Paul residents’ political consciousness in regards to policing and community safety. All of this coincided with the rising anti-Asian violence that occurred both nationally and locally in Minnesota. The OFs wanted to create a space for Asian American young people to discuss how they see themselves and engage their identity within this community safety narrative that has often left them out.
In the video, we asked six Asian American Twin Cities residents to share what community safety means to them, as well as stories of police encounters they might have had. The OFs did not have an agenda with the production of this video; the film participants are sharing their experiences upon prompted questions.
Watch our video here: bit.ly/ofdocu
ABOUT OUR REPORT
“Asian American Youth on Policing & Community Safety” is the 2022 Organizing Fellows’ final report, in which they explore their findings from the variety of ways they engaged with the perspectives of young Asian Americans throughout their fellowship consisting of the documentary, a workshop titled “Policing, Capitalism, & the Criminalization of Asian Americans” the fellows hosted in November 2022, and on-the-ground canvassing efforts that included door-knocking, phone-banking, and text-banking. In addition to their findings, the fellows also reflect on what they learned throughout the summer and fall and how they were able to develop as organizers and leaders.
Download and read the report here!
MORE RESOURCES
Alternatives to Police in Minnesota
For more on AAOP’s work surveying communities on issues like policing and community safety, we encourage you to read:
On Police Abuse & Black Lives Matter: Talking Asian to Asian in North Minneapolis
Doorknocking for Justice: Exploring Asian Dreams, Lives, and Issues Through Critical Conversations
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