Split - A Reflection by Tia Monet

I feel stuck in the middle. 

Hi, I’m Tia Monet, and this is my current struggle as a Black & Asian mixed race woman. 

It’s been a rough 12 months. In 2020, we saw police brutality against the Black community exposed. In 2020, hate crimes against Asians went up by over 1,000%. 

And I’m tired of speaking out. 

No, I’m not saying I don’t want justice. I’m not saying I never want to speak up again. I want justice, and I want everyone to feel safe wherever they are. 

I’m just tired of speaking out for each “side” of myself, and then getting attacked by the other “side.” 

When I speak up for the Black community, there’s always a handful of Asians who say, “What about us, Black people ignore us,” ''Black people have hate crimed us,” or “Why don’t you talk keep the same energy as for BLM when its Asians?” 

When I speak up for the Asian community, there’s always some people in the Black community who say, “Asians have never and will never experience racism,” “Asians are basically white,” or “They’re racist to us, so they deserve to know what getting hate crimed feels like.” 

As a blasian, I have to worry about whether or not my Black father will encounter aggressive racist cops, or if my Japanese mother will be safe at the grocery store if she goes alone. 

I’m just exhausted. I work hard to speak out for both “sides,” but they never think it’s enough, or they want me to pick a side. 

It’s a weird time to be living in. Why can’t I just speak out for both? Why is that so bad? Why is it so hard for people to comprehend that there are some mixed race people who do not want to ever “take a side” when their two races or ethnicities are against each other? 

Can we, for once, remember: even though we don’t experience “the same level” of racism, we’re all still people of color? Please? 

If we stay divided, we’ll never defeat our true enemy: white supremacy.