With COVID19 and the rise of xenophobia, it has been hard to write and focus. I’m definitely angered by all the incidents of hate against Chinese and Asian people but I’m also moved by all the important reporting and response efforts to #AntiAsianRacism. And, like many I’m also very saddened by the Black and Chinese tensions in the US (and the anti-Blackness in China). The actions of both governments and elites have fueled the xenophobia, fear and hate in our communities. We need to keep our eyes on the prize and build ‘people to people’ at the local to global level. The real enemy is global capitalism, nationalism and white supremacy and we need to make these connections stronger and more explicit. Toby Chow from Justice is Global said, “Xenophobic reactions to #Covid19 are widespread. In the US and elsewhere it’s mainly anti-Asian, in China anti-African, in India Islamophobic, etc. To fight this properly we need to understand the parallels between all these instances. This is a global, structural problem.”

With over 300 anti-China pending bills and resolutions and both parties attacking China and Chinese people in the US, it is our time to step up. This is what Grace Lee Boggs taught me in 2012 when she predicted the important role of Chinese and Asian American in the United States in fighting global capitalism, environmental degradation, and xenophobia in the belly of the beast….