Vignesh Ramachandran Nicole Cardoza Vignesh Ramachandran Nicole Cardoza

Tackle anti-Blackness in South Asian communities.

After Kamala Harris was elected America’s first Black, Indian American, and female vice president, South Asians largely reacted with enthusiasm. A September poll found that 72 percent of Indian Americans were going to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace). But when the vice president-elect takes office in a few weeks, how are South Asian American communities going to grapple with their legacies of anti-Blackness alongside their celebration of this historical milestone? How will we make sure that we reject model minority tropes and also center her Black identity?

Hello and welcome to a new year, a new Monday, and a new article from the Anti-Racism Daily! We've had a lovely time on holiday and we're back in action with our daily reporting. We're just a couple weeks from the U.S. Presidential Inauguration (held January 20, 2021) where Kamala Harris will become the first woman, first Black person, and first person of South Asian descent to become vice president. Today, Vignesh joins us to discuss anti-Blackness and the complexity of multiracial identity.

I appreciate that Vignesh mentions that he is still learning, and invites others in his community to do the same. You might not identify as South Asian, but consider how you can take the same approach to address anti-Blackness in your own community.

This community has grown since holiday! Thanks to our group of financial contributors, we can continue to offer this newsletter free for all – without sponsors or ads. You can support our work by making a one-time gift on our website or PayPal, or subscribe for $7/month on Patreon. You can also Venmo (@nicoleacardoza).

Nicole

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By Vignesh Ramachadran (he/him)

After Kamala Harris was elected America’s first Black, Indian American, and female vice president, South Asians largely reacted with enthusiasm. A September poll found that 72 percent of Indian Americans were going to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace). But when the vice president-elect takes office in a few weeks, how are South Asian American communities going to grapple with their legacies of anti-Blackness alongside their celebration of this historical milestone? How will we make sure that we reject model minority tropes and also center her Black identity?

Of course, identifying Harris has been a subject of much contention: some have labeled her as solely African American, others as only Asian American, while others have flat-out questioned her American roots (The Atlantic). Harris was born to a Jamaican American father and an Indian American mother in California. The incoming Biden-Harris administration clearly identifies her as a “Black and Indian American woman.” After the November election, lawyer Deepa Iyer encouraged Brown Americans to not “erase or de-center her Black identity” or “accept that oppression and inequality have ended,” as well as to address “anti-Blackness in systems and our own communities” (Twitter).

There are racist adages in parts of South Asian communities that basically say: Don’t date or marry someone who is Black (The Juggernaut). Whiteness has traditionally been the South Asian aspiration — from skincare products to matrimonial platforms to entertainment. When Indians have called out cultural appropriation in Western pop culture, they often ignore that Bollywood liberally appropriates Black culture and promotes whiteness — spurring the #BollywoodSoWhite movement. For more on colorism in South Asian communities, check out our previous newsletter. 

All these issues stem from a legacy of colorism, casteism, and anti-Black sentiment that have pervaded South Asian cultures for years. The community must understand that history in order to course-correct today. In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, one of the female characters dislikes her dark complexion. In Islamic history, some followers disliked one of Prophet Mohammed’s companions because he was dark and the son of enslaved people (The Juggernaut).

In more contemporary times, Gandhi was thought to have a “disdain for Africans” during his time living in South Africa (The Washington Post). In the well-known 1923 Supreme Court case in which Bhagat Singh Thind fought for American naturalization, he claimed his high-caste Hindu roots and supposed Aryan blood deemed him white. In 1958, Harris’s Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who moved from South India to Berkeley, California, to pursue higher education, soon participated in civil rights demonstrations (The Atlantic). The civil rights movement, fought by Black Americans, opened doors for the vast majority of South Asians to even move to the United States. The landmark Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 abolished old immigration quotas, allowing immigrants from Asian countries to grow exponentially (History.com). As Sharmila Sen writes in The Washington Post: “Rushing to celebrate our achievements — impressive household incomes, new-construction homes, millennia-old gods, low divorce rates, high SAT scores — we have, on occasion, silently accepted the badge of honorary whiteness.”

So many people in my own family have described my late maternal grandfather as a “great man and very handsome, even though he was very dark” — as though his Dravidian roots and South Indian skin were a character flaw he had to overcome. Even Hindu idols are largely depicted with fair skin, though there is some contemporary pushback (BBC News). There are also troubling parallels between race and caste discrimination (The Conversation). 

But there is progress being made in 2020. Following George Floyd’s killing, parts of South Asian American communities finally began to discuss anti-Blackness — both in public spheres and in the depths of private WhatsApp groups. A group of my childhood friends who also grew up second-generation in Colorado started a Zoom meetup where we discussed issues of race. Kids are sending their older relatives Letters For Black Lives. Aunties and uncles — some of who participated in summer protests — finally began to understand why Black Lives Matter. We heard the heartening story of the Bangladeshi immigrants in Minneapolis whose restaurant caught fire during demonstrations, and in those moments of distress, expressed solidarity: “Let my building burn … Justice needs to be served” (Medium).

As the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) organization eloquently recommends, in addition to addressing anti-Blackness, it’s time for South Asian American communities to show up for Black communities. It’s time to uplift voices who are not just like me. We need to hear from those who grew up both Black and South Asian to better understand unique multiracial perspectives — like those of Harris. I’m still learning, and I hope more South Asian American peers will join me in this process. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • South Asians need to recognize that anti-Blackness in our communities goes back centuries. Whether we’re talking about emerging voices or famous leaders like Kamala Harris, it’s important to acknowledge intersectional identities and not just “Brown-wash” them.

  • The Asian model minority myth hurts everyone — especially our Black peers.

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Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

End the "angry Black woman" trope.

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Happy Wednesday! I've referenced today's topic in several newsletters in the past, and it's been sitting in queue for a while. But the conversations that have sparked since Kamala Harris' nomination brought it right back to the top of the list. Today we're referencing how the "angry Black woman" trope has played in the political world. If you're learning about this for the first time, be sure to dive into the resources provided for more historical examples across industries, and I highly recommend Brittney Cooper's book also referenced below.

The upcoming election is bringing conversations on race centerstage. Racism is deeply intertwined in our political system, the ideologies and lived experiences of key candidates, and the gravest issues affecting our nation. We are not a political organization, nor will we endorse a candidate. But we will talk about how current and future administrations affect this topic. More urgently, we will encourage each of you to exercise whatever right to vote you have, wherever you are – civic engagement is critical to dismantling systems of oppression. I'm grateful to navigate what's coming with this community.

Thank you all for pitching in to make this possible! You can make a one-time or monthly contribution on our website, PayPal, Venmo (@nicoleacardoza) or subscribe monthly on Patreon. 

Nicole

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  • Note how friends, family, and colleagues discuss Kamala Harris and her speech at the Democratic National Convention. Hold conversations with those promoting the "angry Black woman" trope.

  • Consider how similar actions by Black women would be labeled if white women or white men performed them.

  • Reflect: How does it feel when others invalidate your emotions or experiences? When have you been mislabeled as angry?

If you identify as a Black woman:

How do you create space for your anger? How can you practice reclaiming your inherent right to be mad?

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By Nicole Cardoza

Not a day after Kamala Harris was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate for the upcoming election, Trump referred to her as a “mad woman” (Axios). This, paired with a “birther” conspiracy theory we’ll discuss in a later newsletter, was the start of a broader series of accusations referring to Kamala Harris’ perceived temper. Harris is the first female vice-presidential African American candidate and candidate of Indian descent.

The “mad woman” stereotype has been applied against women of all backgrounds and identities, reinforcing a long-held assumption that women should be approachable and friendly. Taylor Swift released a song of the same title a few weeks ago (Seventeen). In Game of Thrones, the character of Daenerys Targaryen was judged for her descent to madness, perhaps in a way many men aren’t (Polygon). And in the 2016 presidential debate, Trump’s comment on Hilary Clinton as a “nasty woman” launched a rallying cry against these outdated stereotypes (CNN).

But there’s a particular relationship with anger and Black women in our society. The “Angry Black woman” trope has been used to discredit Black women’s emotions since slavery. This trope has been perpetuated consistently throughout history in the media, which was outlined recently by the NYTimes. From TV shows and movies to Broadway plays, Black women are often depicted in smaller roles and appear sassy or angry. It’s wielded against powerful businesswomen and athletes – consider how Serena Williams has been publicly scorned for demonstrating any anger through her career (Washington Post). 

And perpetuating this stereotype encourages our society to dismiss the thoughts and emotions of Black women. It’s a form of policing Black bodies, a concept we outlined in our very first newsletter (look at how far we’ve come). This fact is well-outlined in author and educator Brittney Cooper’s book Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (Bookshop):

“Whenever someone weaponizes anger against black women, it is designed to silence them. It is designed to discredit them and to say that they don't have a good grasp on reality, that they are overreacting, that they are being hypersensitive, that whatever set of conditions that they are responding to, that their reaction is outsized.”


Brittney Cooper, author, teacher, activist, and cultural critic, for NPR.

And when the “angry Black woman” trope is played against Harris during the election season, it gets personal and political. It doesn’t just work to discredit any other Black and female political leader – current or forthcoming. It’s an attempt to muzzle the policies and promises the Biden/Harris election campaign will reinforce in their campaigns, speeches, and debates. It can be used to weaken Harris’s political career and aspirations – and weaken Biden solely based on association.

We’ve already seen this happen. Harris isn’t the first politician to be criticized this way and is unlikely to be the last. Michelle Obama has publicly spoken out against the series of tropes (BBC). And Maxine Walters has faced the same discourse throughout her career (Vox). Stacey Abrams, who has been adamant about voter disenfranchisement throughout her political career, has also been depicted the same way (The Root). It’s hard not to find an example of a Black political leader that hasn’t been the same sentiment, which shows how weaponized this term has become. It’s even been wielded by Black women for their own gain: Omarosa Manigault, who rose to fame on Celebrity Apprentice before becoming a high-profile political aide under President Trump, played into the “angry Black woman” trope on the reality show (Slate).

The frustrating thing about this trend is that, because Black women’s feelings are often minimized, they are forced to show up for themselves. Because as we watch Black women being discredited as angry, we also see society dismiss their pain and sorrow. Megan the Stallion, a prominent 25-year-old rapper, was mocked and ridiculed widely on social media after reports circulated that she was shot (NYTimes). Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old Black Lives Matter activist, who went missing and was found dead a week later, had recently shared feeling unsafe after a sexual assault (CNN). The injustice against Breonna Taylor isn’t a singular story; many Black women have lost their lives to police brutality that still goes unchecked (WFPL).

No one ever needs external validation for how they feel. But this outdated narrative is especially damaging today. With a global pandemic exposing the systemic racial inequities in our society, the protests and rallying to change our police systems, and a contentious upcoming election, there hasn’t been a better time to be angry. And we need to acknowledge the anger of Black women to create transformative change. 

And that starts at the polls. Regardless of how you feel about Harris as a candidate, we need to validate the space she takes up and the role she plays in activating a nation towards change. That means actively dismantling the angry Black woman trope in this election – and how it shows up in conversations with those around you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Kamala Harris follows a long line of Black female political figures that have been discredited with the "angry Black woman" trope

  • This trope has been persistent throughout history, and used as a way to police the voices and perspectives of Black women

  • It is up to us to center the voices and perspectives of Black women

RELATED ISSUES

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

Read More