During our conversation with Prachi Patankar, she mentioned mentioned several points on which we thought you use additional information. We’ve put together Resources on South Asian and Black Alliances for you. Many African Americans are unfamiliar with the historical ties our community has with migrants from India. And, some may be unaware that some of our greatest historical figures also interacted with the Indian Dalit communities. Hopefully, you’ll find some of these links helpful.
Early Historical Connections
We have documentation of Indians arriving here in what was then the colonies, as early as 1710. Some arrived as indentured servants and when they became free lived, loved, and worked among other free people of color. Indian descendants were instrumental in helping to build free communities of color in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. For examples of colonial documents mentioning “East Indians” see this link. They also participated in the migration of free people of color out of the south into Ohio, Indiana and Michigan in the 1840’s.
Interacting With Our Civil Rights Leaders
Prachi mentioned that B.R. Ambedkar, the preeminent leader of India’s Dalits, wrote to W.E. BuBois. If you want to read about their exchange you can find it here. These two leaders understood the universal experience of oppression. Decades later, Martin Luther King Jr. also learned about the Dalits. King was introduced as a Dalit when he spoke at a school in the southern part of India. At first he was offended, but then he reflected on the commonality of the African American experience and the Dalit experience with oppression. You can read his reflection on the experience here.
South Asians here in the US experienced discrimination in general because they were Asians, but also specifically because they were South Asians. Until 1957 our immigration laws helped fueled anti-South Asian reactions. Here’s an interesting write up on the legacies of our immigration laws on the community.
What is possible going forward
There is movement within the greater Asian community to understand it’s own basis against South Asians, as they struggle for visibility. This article is written specifically about discrimination within the Asian community, but it is helpful to show the complexity of talking about an “Asian” community. And for another take on complexity read about the usage of the labels Desi, brown and South Asian to describe communities that fall within the label but at the same time don’t.
And our readers may not know South Asians have a long history of being allies with African Americans in the struggle for justice. There is a South Asian Radical History Walking tour that explores some of that history in Berkeley CA. It’s run by Barnali Ghosh and Anirvan Chatterjee. If anyone is out that way, check out the tour. You can read more about South Asian activism at The Alliance of South Asian Taking Action.
We have so much we must still learn about each other. But the challenges facing all our communities are huge. We can ALL fight better with good allies that understand and support each other.