Asian American Movement and Black Power

The Asian American movement and the Black power movement were two movements that were deeply connected through shared goals of anti-imperialism, racial justice, and student-led activism during the late 1960's. Asian American activists, inspired by the Black Panther Party and Black Power ideology, participated in multiracial coalitions for racial justice and anti-imperialist struggles. Prominent figures like Richard Aoki and Yuri Kochiyama embodied this solidarity through their close friendship with Bobby Seale and Malcolm X, and support for Black liberation. The Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) closely aligned with the Black Panthers and other radical Black groups in campaigns like the Third World Liberation Front strikes. These connections influenced later expressions of solidarity, including Asian American support for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Community spaces like Everybody’s Bookstore in San Francisco served as hubs for sharing revolutionary ideas, reflecting the long-lasting impact of Black Power and Asian American alliances.
Yuri Kochiyama and the Black Power Movement
Yuri Kochiyama was a prominent Japanese American civil rights activist who strongly supported the Black Power Movement.She was born in 1921 in San Pedro, California, where she grew up witnessing widespread anti-Asian racism and later experienced the injustices of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Yuri and Malcom met in 1963, at a protest organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, which aimed to address discrimination in construction hiring practices at Brooklyn’s Downstate Medical Center. It was there that Yuri attended classes, where she learned about the history of slavery and was able to connect that to the racism and violence she witnessed daily. A widely circulated photograph captured her cradling his head in her lap in the moments after the shooting.. She frequently criticized the FBI’s COINTELPRO program, which targeted Black activists with surveillance and disruption. She rejected the "model minority" stereotype, arguing that it served as a wedge to divide communities of color. Instead, she promoted a Third World liberation framework that emphasized global solidarity, anti-imperialism, and resistance to U.S. militarism.
Black Panther Party and Asian American Activism
The Black Power movement significantly influenced the rise of Asian American activism during the Civil Rights Era. In the Bay Area, many early Asian American organizations drew inspiration from Black Power and the Black Panther Party, founded in 1966 in Oakland by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panther Party advocated for armed self-defense, racial solidarity, and liberation for all oppressed groups.
The most well-documented Asian American to work with the Black Panther Party was Richard Aoki, a Japanese American activist and educator. Aoki was interned during World War II with his family in Topaz, Utah, part of the U.S. government's incarceration of Japanese Americans. After the war, he grew up in West Oakland, then a predominantly Black neighborhood. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. military, and developed a proficiency with firearms. He spent 8 years in the Reserves, during which he became acquainted with radical politics and social organizations. Aoki was one of the few non-Black members of the Black Panther Party and was the only Asian American appointed to the rank of Field Marshal.
Many AAPA members helped campaign with the Japanese American Citizens League to repeal Title II of the McCarran Act, or the Internal Securities Act of 1950. AAPA members spoke out about how these laws could be used in the same way against Black radical activists as they had been used against Japanese Americans. They called for the law’s repeal at Free Huey rallies and saw both issues as connected in their broader support for multiracial alliances and non-white liberation movements. Many Chinese American youth resonated with the Black Panther Party's stance against police brutality, poverty, and racism.
AAPA’s participation in the Third World Liberation Front was one of the main reasons AAPA’s influence spread so far. Richard Aoki, who was a founding member of the AAPA and a former member of the Black Panther Party, played a pivotal role in bridging the gaps between Asian American and Black radical organizing, not just on campus, but on the streets as well. AAPA saw the demands for an ethnic studies program as a part of a broader global struggle against imperialism, capitalism, and white supremacy.The famous slogan “Stop the War at Home and Abroad” encapsulated the interconnected nature of their activism, and challenged US foreign policy and racial capitalism. This antiwar activism was especially significant for Asian Americans, as they sought to reject the image of the “model minority” and instead position themselves in solidarity with the people of Vietnam and against the military-industrial complex. As the nation underwent a racial reckoning after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed in broad daylight by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, a pan-racial alliance came out to protest racialized police violence, systemic racism, and show solidarity with Black Americans. Based in Seattle, Chinese and Taiwanese artist, Monyee Chau, attempted to repopularize this slogan by creating a poster with the phrase, surrounded by hashtags such as #blacklivesmatter and #asians4blacklives. This was meant to rally the new generation of Asian youth to support the struggles of Black Americans, just as they did in the 1960s. Despite not being directly affected by George Floyd’s death, the Asian American protesters who displayed this sign felt the need to stand in solidarity with their fellow American racial minorities, and use their privilege to advocate for the more underprivileged.
In Chicago, a major hub for both Asian American and Black American communities. Asian Americans joined the Black Lives Matter protests. Organized between the Chinese Christian Union Church and the Progressive Baptist Church, a historically Black church, the two groups came together to organize a rally in support of George Floyd and racial justice.. One reason was because this was in nearby Sacramento’s “Little Saigon” area<ref name":0" />, but also due to the fact that Asian Americans in South Sacramento share a lot of common struggles with the Black community there too, including over-policing, mass incarceration, and gang violence. This led to local members of both the Black and Asian community forming marches and street blockades as they called for justice.<ref name":0" />
2018 saw the shooting of Akai Gurley, an unarmed Black man, by Peter Liang, a Chinese American NYPD officer, which became a notable event that revealed dynamics between Asian American and Black communities.<ref name=":4" /> The case highlighted a divide within the Asian American community, where some people supported Liang, questioning his prosecution compared to white officers in similar cases and suggesting he was a "scapegoat".<ref name":4" /> On the other hand, other Asian American activists allied with the Black Lives Matter movement and Gurley's family, advocating for police accountability and emphasizing the cross-racial struggle for justice. This event also spurred discussions surrounding anti-Black sentiment within some Asian American communities and caused others to display their commitment to inter-community solidarity.<ref name":4" />

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu