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BY: SALSA | DATE: Jun 05, 2020

The CUNY South Asian Law Student Association would like to express our solidarity with and for the Black Lives Matter Movement, CUNY BLSA, and the greater CUNY community. Our organization is committed to uplift, support, and show up for our colleagues and the greater BLM Movement. As South Asian Americans we understand the importance of our unity and voice in this discussion and we are ready to raise awareness in our own communities. Along with our solidarity letter, we have compiled a list of resources that may be beneficial to colleagues at our school and beyond.

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June 4, 2020

Dear CUNY Law community,

The South Asian Law Students Association of the City University of New York School of Law (CUNYSALSA) stands in solidarity with BLSA, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Black community as a whole, to demand justice for the systemic profiling, harassment, assault, and killing of Black communities in our country.

Now more than ever, we have seen how the country has failed Black communities. The pandemic has disproportionately taken the lives of Black communities—making visible the deeply rooted racial disparities in both public health and police surveillance. It is clear we are in a moment of crisis. There is no doubt that Black communities are hurting everywhere, especially during these turbulent and violent past few weeks. We are grieving with you and see your pain.

We have been mourning alongside the Black community with each life that has been unjustly taken by police brutality and white supremacy. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Aubery. Sandra Bland. The list of Black lives that have been lost to state-sanctioned violence is too painful and long to recount, dating back to centuries of oppression from slavery and Jim Crow to mass incarceration. But we know that solidarity is not enough during this critical moment in the movement. We reaffirm our commitment to demanding accountability and action because Black lives must no longer be devalued, demeaned, and dehumanized.

Silence is complicity. We recognize our community needs to do more to show up for the Black community because they have paved the path forward for our South Asian community. It is undeniable that our own story is rooted in the historical struggles of Black civil rights activists fighting racial oppression and injustice. We cannot ignore the fact that our existence in this country is only made possible through the decades-long work of Black activism. Our past, present, and future is intertwined with the movements that Black activists and community organizers have fought for and continue to fight for.

There is so much for us to learn and unlearn. In the words of Angela Davis, “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist.” We must be patient and have those difficult conversations with our parents, aunties, and uncles in order to undo anti-Black racism. We must shift the harmful narrative perpetuated by the media that frames protests as riots and amplify Black voices.

We must actively engage in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, whether it be through donating to bail funds and memorial funds, signing petitions, emailing government officials, spreading awareness, educating ourselves about Black history, defunding the police, and having intimate conversations within our own households—recognizing that our liberation is tied together.

For too long, the “model minority” myth has created a divide between South Asian and Black communities—distracting the South Asian community from tackling our common goal of eradicating systemic oppression. But we are stronger together when we recognize the intersection of our movements and struggles. We refuse to let narratives created by white supremacists overpower the solidarity and love we feel for Black people.

CUNYSALSA is committed to rallying with our Black family at CUNY Law and Black people everywhere. The work we aim to do is only effective if we commit ourselves to critical self-reflection and challenge the anti-Black sentiments at home and in our larger communities. We are ready to educate ourselves and our community, as well as support and listen to any guidance from CUNY BLSA and Black community organizers for what actions we need to take to move the movement forward together. Our commitment is beyond the current moment. We will not rest until lasting change is implemented.

The fight will be long, but we will stand in solidarity alongside the movement to create a world where Black communities will be safe and free. It is now our turn to uplift, support, and show up for a community we honor and owe our legacy to.

 

In solidarity and power,

 

South Asian Law Student Association  Editorial Board 2020-2021

Nishat Choudhury 3L & Nikita Patel 3L, Co-Presidents

Sadaf Hasan 2L, Communications Director

Nusrat Mowla 2L, Treasurer

Namrata Mogilisetty 2L, Secretary

 

DONATE

Bail funds: Movement for Black Lives collected a list of bail funds across the US. (Note that while a few NYC funds are listed, organizers have said that additional funds are not needed at this moment in NYC and so donations could be directed at other jurisdictions.)

Organization funds: Reclaim the Block, a grassroots organization that works to provide the Minneapolis community with the resources they need to thrive, has posted a list of hard-working and worthy organizations to donate for the movement right now, and the long-term.

EDUCATE

One of the best tools for the fight for Black liberation is self-learning and reflection. Here are some books and media that can help you learn more about our shared history with the Black community.

ACT

Coordinate or join South Asian solidarity protests by showing up safely and with the focus on the Black Lives Matter movement. Listen to Black organizers and take their lead in how to protest. Use your privilege as a non-Black POC to protect Black people from police violence. Some resources to help with arrests include Legal Aid, National Lawyers Guild, and GoodCallNYC.