Carmen Suen's Reading List
Understanding Racism: A Confession and Some Book Recommendations
Growing up in Hong Kong, racism seemed like such a distant problem. Hong Kong is undoubtedly an international city, but by and large, it is a homogenous society, with over 90% of its population being Chinese. It wasn’t until I started dating my now-husband that I first saw the internalized anti-blackness in my people.
Don’t get me wrong. My husband, who is black and grew up in Trinidad and New York, had a wonderful time when he was working and living in Hong Kong. He never once had a racist encounter in the three years he was there. Quite the contrary, he felt he had always been treated fairly in both social and professional settings. At times, he even felt like he got kudos just for being different.
But as a black man’s girlfriend, I did see signs of subtle racism, a prejudice that was epitomized by one seemingly everyday interaction: One time at work, a group of young women in my department were chatting while we were waiting for our lunch at the cafeteria. None of them knew about my relationship at the time, and one of them asked the group, “Would you date a black guy?”
Innocent enough a question, one might say. But when you really think about it, there’s something unsettling about this question. Women don’t ask, “Would you date a handsome man?” We ask, “Would you date someone who has a big birthmark on his face?” Women don’t ask, “Would you date someone taller than you?” We ask, “Would you date someone 5 feet tall?” The question my coworker asked bore an underlying assumption that dating a black person was something less desirable.
Since we moved to the U.S. seventeen years ago and I became a mother to two Blasian boys, I have seen a lot more examples of this kind of subtle racism from the Asian community.
When the Black Lives Matter movement was reignited across the country after the death of George Floyd, there was a discussion thread about why it was problematic to say “all lives matter” on a Facebook private group of Chinese American moms, of which I’m a member. The thread quickly turned into a series of rants about how Asian Americans were also victims of racism, but Asian Americans generally “do better” than black people because we work very hard. One mom commented that since black people are better at athletics and not academics, they should just be happy that they could be professional athletes. “We’re made to be good at different things,” she said, implying that black people are less intelligent.
While I did not expect to see such comments from the group, I can’t say I was shocked. After all, these sentiments sit perfectly well with the teachings Asian parents have been instilling in kids all along: if you work hard and keep your mouth shut, you’ll eventually get where you want to be. If you did not get there, do not whine about it. Just work harder.
And let’s not forget about the model minority myth that was presented to Asian Americans on a silver platter. Around the time of World War II, the media created the idea of a model minority, which was specifically used to drive a wedge between Asians and Blacks. The argument is that if one minority group can be successful in spite of all the adversities in front of them, then it means other groups who cannot achieve the same level of success must not have worked hard enough or not done it right. It is then not racism, but their own inadequacies, that stopped them from being successful.
While it makes logical sense for all people of color to unite and fight against racism together, it is not always easy for them to get pass the inequalities they face every day and stand with the black community. A lot of Asian Americans feel uneasy about the Black Lives Matter movement, largely because of the unconscious internalized anti-blackness that I mentioned above, but also because of a misunderstanding of what the movement stands for. On the one hand, they agree that racism exists, and that we all have to do something about it. But at the same time, supporting BLM, in some people’s minds, means that we’re overlooking the sufferings of other people of color, including Asians.
The latter is, of course, not true. As a matter of fact, raising awareness of racism targeted to any one race will only bring more attention to the unjust practices and policies that promote and perpetuate racism that affect all people of color. Asians standing with the black community will lend more legitimacy and strength to the movement. If the BLM movement succeeds, all people of color will benefit from it.
But first, we need to break down the misconception about how racism affects black people in America. Whether you’re Asian or not, the following books will help you understand the history, evolution, and effects of racism in the US.
Book Recommendations
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
For those who don’t know where and how to start a conversation on race, regardless of their skin color, this is a must-read step-by-step guidebook. Reading the book is like talking to a good friend who pulls no punches and tells you everything exactly as she knows it. Helpful, honest, and at times painfully blunt, Oluo tells you all the do’s and don’ts of how you can engage in a meaningful conversation on race.
When They Call You A Terrorist by Asha Bendele and Patrisse Khan-Cullors
A beautifully poignant memoir from one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, this book lays bare the struggles of a queer, black woman. It’s an intimate look into what it is like being black in America. It is not just her story, but it’s also the story of her parents, her siblings, her cousins, her lovers, and her friends. If stats and facts don’t move you, Khan-Cullors’s story certainly will.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in The Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Anyone who grew up in an area with at least some ethnic diversity knows what the book title refers to: teenagers self-segregating into clusters of different ethnic groups in cafeterias in middle and high schools across the country. Using real life examples, renowned scholar Beverly Daniel Tatum explains the psychology behind the behavior. She talks in details about the development of racial identities among young people, and how that transforms their world view.
Unraveling the Model Minority Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth by Stacey J. Lee
When we talk about racism in America, it quickly turns into a black vs. white conversation, as if other people of color are not victims of racial inequality. This book is a culmination of Stacy Lee’s extensive research on Asian American youth. Through these high school students’ experiences, readers will get a better understanding of the interethnic relations in the Asia community, and how stereotypes like the model minority perpetuates the racial inequality towards Asians.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This book is a letter from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his teenage son, explaining to him what it means to be a black man in America. He draws on stories from his own upbringing and the story of our country, from slavery to segregation to our current crisis. It’s deeply personal, yet in a lot of ways not so different from the story of any other black man.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Modern day racism looks nothing like the KKK. We have to recognize racism in its current form. Just because slavery is illegal doesn’t mean black people enjoy the same rights and opportunities that the privileged have. The new battleground for racial equality is in the criminal justice system. This book delves into the many ways the system fails people of color.
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
We cannot talk about racism without talking about classism. The two go hand-in-hand. Even with the best intentions, we sometimes forgot that racism and classism affect women differently than they do to men. An outspoken advocate for the oppressed since the days of the Black Panther, Angela Davis brings an important take on the intersectionality of gender, race, and class.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Whether you’re a fan of Trevor Noah or not, you’ll appreciate the honesty, and humor, of his memoir. From his story of growing up during the Apartheid, readers will see how racism is very much a strategic tool of oppression. It provides an interesting perspective on the race issue in the U.S.
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
Like other important works of Toni Morrison, this book tells the collective tale of African Americans. Unlike most of her other works, this book speaks directly to the social and political moment of today. It is a collection of her most important essays
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
To understand the race issue in the U.S., we must first understand the nation’s founding. Textbooks on American history are mostly presented from the colonial settler’s viewpoint. This is the first book that tells the story from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. Backed by extensive research, acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz challenges our idea of how the country was founded.
Carmen Suen has written and edited for some of the biggest names in Hong Kong, including City Magazine, Eat and Travel, East Magazine, and Vogue Hong Kong. Since relocating to the United States, Carmen has been living a semi-nomadic life with her husband, their two boys, a couple of turtles, and an old chocolate lab-Weimaraner mix, moving from the West Coast to the Southwest and the Midwest, until finally settling in the Boston area.
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