Racism among Immigrants from Indian sub-continent

In my previous blog about the racial incident in Rochester Hills, I had forgotten to mention a quick conversation I had with an attendee at the meeting that was held to discuss the incident. The lady sitting at my table asked me how old my kids are and when she came to know that I have a 14 year old son, the same age as Brannan who was shot at for asking directions, she said, “wow, this could have happened to your son.” I respectfully disagreed. I said that I don’t think he would have been shot at. In my son’s case, he would be considered a good kid—good in studies, good for the school environment, and anything but a “trouble maker.” My son is not black, he is brown and that makes a huge difference.

And that’s exactly the reason that many brown folks I know, have no concern about racism in this country. Most of us brown folks fail to realize that most of our rights as citizens are because of the struggle of others, mainly that of African-Americans, who fought for social and racial justice.

When I landed in United States in 1990, for me, America was a country of whites. I knew there were blacks (it was only later that I learned the term African-American) in the United States but from what I understood while watching TV in India, that they were pretty insignificant.

When I landed to accomplish my master’s at Virginia Tech, I did not know the history of this country. For me it was my future, not the American past that mattered. This was/is the land of opportunity. A friend at Virginia Tech introduced me to race relations and American history when he lent me a cassette of the movie “Mississippi Burning.” I remember watching the movie on a Friday night, normally reserved for partying and a night of relaxation, before getting back to research work for graduate studies over the weekend. That started me on an on-going journey to learn more about the history of slavery in this country and its present effects.

Once I came to realize that this was not just Hollywood fiction, but a major part of American history. I was horrified. Since then, I have been very curious about the history of slavery in this country. And I have a lot to learn still.

The general focus for Indian sub-continent immigrants (by that I mean immigrants from India, Pakistan, and surrounding countries) landing in United States is education and securing their future in this country, economically. We work hard and don’t want to be distracted by involving ourselves in any social issues regarding this country. Most of our interactions are with other immigrants of our kind and whites, particularly in college campuses. After education, the usual move to a house in a suburb and voilá, the American dream is achieved.

Race relations and discrimination is a rarely discussed topic in social gatherings. I don’t remember ever being in a social gathering where the topic of discussion was the unjust shooting of African-Americans by police or Black Lives Matter etc. And if the topic is ever visited tangentially, it is always dealt with the attitude, “It is not my problem,” or “If we can make it, why can’t they?” Or “If you work hard in this country, whatever your background, you can make it.”

My brown friends fail to realize that just being brown and not black is a privilege in this country. They don’t have the historical context where blacks were treated as 3/5th human being. Also they don’t realize that American slavery was based on race and race alone. Racism is engrained in the history of the United States. This history is hard to learn and does not come easily but its effects are evident on a daily basis.

The color of one’s skin is very important in Indian sub-continent cultures. Growing up in India, I remember watching ads on TV about creams that will make you “fair and lovely.” From what I understand, Bollywood actors are still used in ads to sell those creams. Unfortunately, the culture there associates fair color with goodness and beauty.

I wish more of my fellow immigrants could understand that the reason they can live and thrive and are afforded the rights they have in the United States is because of the Civil Rights Movement. Bottom line, if African-Americans had not struggled and sacrificed to get their civil rights, we would not be in this country.

The good news is that our brown American kids are much more in tune with the history of this country and the current environment. They realize that their parents are hypocritical, while taking advantage of minority certifications for their businesses and all the advantages of American citizenship but never ever contributing anything for social, racial and economic justice in this country. These kids are our hope. And I hope they will participate fully for the equality of all human beings in all aspects in this country, and for that matter, the world.

My recommended list:

Reading

Watching

Frederick Douglas’s – “What to Slave is the 4th of July” The Biography of Malcom X: As told to Alex Haley The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Greatest: My Own Story : Mohammed Ali   Ta-Nehisi Coates:  Between the World and Me Ta- Nehesi Coates: The First White President Sylviane A. Diouf:  Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Howard Zinn: A People's History Of The United States

13th – Netflix Documentary Detroit – Movie The Help - Movie 12 years a Slave - Movie Roots – History Channel Documentary Selma – Movie Mississippi burning – Movie 10 Must Watch Black History Documentaries

A Racial Incident, addressing it and making it a teachable moment for the community

The first time I heard that an African-American teenager, Brennan Walker, was shot at in my town of Rochester Hills was when I received a CAIR Michigan email. Then I received emails from fellow steering committee members at GRAIN calling for a community gathering at 5:00 PM on Saturday April 14th 2018 at Abiding Presence Church in Rochester Hills.

There was no way I was going to miss this meeting. To my pleasant surprise, there were about 50+ people at the church. People of all color, ethnicity and religion were present to show their support for Brennan and his family and to figure out the next steps to get people talking about racism in great Rochester area and find solutions. I was there to learn and to listen and, hopefully, contribute in some positive way.

Pastor Sharon asked everybody to introduce themselves. I was amazed to see the diversity of the area in one room, but also to realize that how this diversity is not reflected in the media, at the city hall or at the school board.

I hate to acknowledge it, but this is the first time that I realized the struggle of African-American families in my own neighborhood. Though what happened to Brennan was tragic and could have been fatal, this could have happened to anyone of their sons.

An African-American man, Fitz (54 yrs old) told about his childhood and how he feels like nothing has really changed. The struggle for dignity and respect continues. He was hopeful that things will be better.

Khary Mason, whose son recently went through a traumatic experience of being called the n-word and the family did not receive support from his school, spoke powerfully about the need for our community to come together and raise our voices.

Michelle, who was sitting at my table, talked about her son being harassed in his own neighborhood while he was trying to collect donations for Adams High Schools’ Robotics. A neighbor called police as her son was going to door to door, suspecting “trouble”.

Regina told about how she does not allow her sons bike beyond certain perimeter in her neighborhood to keep them safe.

On the topic of Brennan’s father serving in US military, one woman attorney strongly reminded everyone that a family does not have to be perfect to receive justice. Why it is expected of African-Americans to have perfect background to receive equality under the law? This reminded me of a powerful quote for Ta-Nehisi Coates book, “Between the World and me”: All my life I’d heard people tell their black boys and black girls to “be twice as good,” which is to say “accept half as much.”

Many families talk about how they are afraid to send their young African-American kids walking to and from school. Why are these kids who go to the same school as other kids are treated differently and are seen as threat?

Deyar talked about being discriminated for being a Muslim and how Swedish exchange students they had sponsored were taken away from them.

Sarah, an educator in urban schools, choked up as she said she did not want to lose any more students.

I told the audience I was there to listen and learn. I wish, my son was there with me to listen to some of these heart-wrenching stories and to understand the struggle some go through in one of the best places to live in the 21st century America.

Many white families spoke about their support for their African-American neighbors and how terrible they feel and their plans to raise their voices at the city council and their places of worship. A white lady said white people need to come forward and confront this ugly reality present in Rochester Hills, supposedly one of the top 10 places to live in the United States. She also asked everybody to take the orange ribbons (a symbol of anti-gun violence movement) she had brought, to put it on their mailbox, suggesting “Come to My House” and don’t be afraid of being shot.

Jenny McCardell, member of city council in Rochester Hills spoke about need to get involved in politics and run for offices. She is pushing and will continue to push to hold the mayor to his commitment to the "Mayors' Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry" that he signed and to make inclusion and diversity into reality. She advised that everybody write (or email) to their councilperson about this incident and demand that the city administration address these issues.

Stephanie from The Northern Oakland County Branch of the NAACP informed everyone that while some may think we live in a suburban utopia, this branch of the NAACP receives calls on weekly about crosses burning on yards and discrimination against people of color. She plans to stay engaged in this case and raise awareness.

Rev. Greg Larson from United Church of Christ church spoke about the need to create a welcoming community and his church is welcoming of everybody. He and pastor Sharon will be part of an inter-faith meeting to be held on April 19th to address this issue and issue a joint statement with other faith leaders.

Last, but not least, Tiffany, owner of small business in downtown Rochester, who was a driving force behind this urgent meeting, spoke powerfully about her own experiences. She spoke about how she was arrested on her own porch by the police for ‘suspicion’ and was stopped while opening the door to  her own business by someone who told her she wasn’t allowed in. She also spoke of her struggles to balance when to complain and when to ignore issues, so as not to be called a troublemaker.

Tiffany did a great job in continuing the conversation and writing suggestions for next steps. Because of my prior commitment, I had to leave before the meeting ended.

GRAIN encourages everybody to attend the April 23rd City Council meeting. Also, don’t forget to call/email to your city council and mayor. I also suggest that next time if you come across any act of discrimination you contact NAACP or/and MRDI (Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion).