anti-blackness & blm Resources

Talking to Your South Asian Family about

Anti-Blackness & Black Lives Matter

For South Asians, it’s more important than ever to speak out about anti-Blackness in our community and the unique impacts of racism that our Black siblings face in the world- not only to show solidarity, but to actively stand up and protest against the injustices that have been prevalent throughout our lifetimes and generations before. Activism looks different for each person and ranges from the personal, community, and systems levels. One important way to consistently help out is by having difficult conversations with your family and community about race, privilege, Black Lives Matter, and more. Below, you’ll find some tools that we can pooled together that can help you have those conversations, as well as how to show up and continue showing up in the fight.

Please note: Your safety and mental health are of utmost importance - please do not bring up these topics in conversation if they will put you in any kind of emotional, physical, or other types of harm.

Community Resources + Media

Gandhi Mahal Restaurant burned in George Floyd riot, but owner still supports protest.

On Friday morning, as dawn broke through the smoke hanging over Minneapolis, the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant was severely damaged by fire. Hafsa Islam, whose father owns the Bangladeshi Indian restaurant with members of his family, woke at 6 a.m. to hear the news.

“At first, I was angry,” said Islam, 18. “This is my family’s main source of income.”

But then she overheard her father, Ruhel Islam, speaking to a friend on the phone. “Let my building burn,” he said. “Justice needs to be served.”

On Friday afternoon, after the fire stopped smoldering and the family came together, he repeated his support for the protests that had closed his restaurant. “We can rebuild a building, but we cannot rebuild a human,” said Ruhel Islam, 42. “The community is still here, and we can work together to rebuild.”