S02 E02 – Victoria Chan discusses Anti-Asian Hate, and the tensions between Asian and Black communities

Race, Health & Happiness

Welcome to Season 2 of the “Race, Health & Happiness” podcast: GAME CHANGERS.
In this episode, I’m interviewing Victoria Chan, a journalist who is disrupting and dismantling stereotypes about East-Asian people and communities.
In July 2020, I read one of Victoria’s articles which started like this:
“In the midst of a pandemic — and perhaps, because of it — Chinese Canadians find themselves on both sides of the racism dynamic: as victims of targeted attacks and perpetrators of anti-Black sentiment. ”
YESSSSSSSS….
That’s still true and incredibly sticky for me as a Black woman, so I’m happy that Victoria agreed to be on the podcast so we could unpack this topic together.
Personally, I am always trying to stand in solidarity with my friends, patients and learners experiencing direct or vicarious trauma from anti-East Asian violence. I’ve attended webinars talking about the anti-East Asian sentiment, including where panelists have disregarded their own privilege and the existence of the “Model Minority Myth”. This was hard to swallow when the Chinese Model Minority Myth is often weaponized and used against other racialized groups like Black communities to undermine our own struggles.
But I never spoke up in these spaces because this is soooooo messy, and involves a good grasp of positionality, oppression, privilege and loss of safety for East Asian communities. So that’s why I had to speak to Victoria after I read that article she wrote. She and I discussed anti-Black racism, and dove into layers of anti-East Asian racism like “Yellow Peril”, model minority, the “Bamboo Ceiling” and the tensions of white adjacency.
This episode is about untangling the complex weave of oppression and the illusion of belonging within a white supremacist hierarchy. Damn!
Dr. O
Victoria Chan's article:
If You Hate Anti-Chinese Racism, You Should Hate Anti-Black Racism, Too -
(http://bit.ly/vc_article)
Access our ShowNotes to discover additional meaning. (http://bit.ly/rhhs2e2)
Victoria's headshot by @Trucreates

Chapters

1. Yellow peril revisited: Impact of SARS on the Chinese and Southeast Asian Canadian communities (00:12:47)

2. History of Anti-Asian Racism in North America (00:20:10)

3. Coronavirus: The ‘yellow peril’ revisited (00:21:55)

4. Coronavirus fears show how 'model minority' Asian Americans become the 'yellow peril' (00:23:20)

5. Anti-Asian Vs. Anti-Black Racism (00:26:25)

6. The Danger Of Oppression Olympics (00:34:20)

7. If You Hate Anti-Chinese Racism, You Should Hate Anti-Black Racism, Too (00:37:46)

8. Want a More Just World? Be an Unlikely Ally. (00:39:25)