Are there significant tensions between Blacks and Asians in your country?

32 comments

1. I’ve never witnessed it myself in person, but I’m neither black or Asian.

   I’ve only seen it on the news. While the news is informative, it inflames more than anything else.

2. >I do visit the U.S. and I have family there.

   >let’s just say the response was unsatisfactory

   You shouldn’t take the word of internet strangers over that of family and your own real life experiences.

3. In certain regions, mostly certain major cities, yes. The LA Riots were actually partially due to tensions between those communities. It’s not like a black person sees an Asian person and there’s always animosity or anything though lol it’s just in certain zones there may be tensions or preconceived notions about each other.

4. I haven’t seen it between blacks and Asians.

   I have heard that there is some, but that’s all second hand.

   I have seen racial tensions between blacks and Latinos in Chicago. Nothing super hardcore but there was some especially where I lived and Latino families were gentrifying traditionally black neighborhoods.

5. It depends on where you are in the country like with anything else. I have heard enough anecdotal stuff about racial problems between asian people and black people to think there is something to it. Almost exclusively in large metro areas. I have heard of and witnessed more than a couple of racist things going back and forth between asian and black people over the years. I also recall that early in the pandemic in the city I lived in at the time there was a rash race based assaults in town against asian people by black people. There are enough jokes about it that I think there has to be something to it. I remember hearing an interview with a black comedian, Patrice O’neal talking about all of his run ins with asian people. Obviously being exaggerated for comedic impact I’m sure, but they sounded based in some truth.

   It is important to put that stuff in perspective though. You only hear about confrontation you don’t hear about people just coexisting with each other which is way more common. You hear about the tension stuff because it is atypical.

6. Not really I am black and personally everyone I have met don’t have a issue with Asians or other races of course I can’t speak for everyone but a good majority don’t if there is tension it’s mostly a gang thing and doesn’t have anything to do with race at all.

7. On the whole, no. I have no problem personally with African American people but a vast majority experiences I’ve had with racism have happened to come from African Americans. Comments that stipulate we aren’t considered POC and are basically white, racially derogatory remarks about my appearance, assumptions about my country of origin. I just chalk it up to a lack of interaction and personal experience with the Asian American community because where I live, we really are quite separate.

   It’s not really bothered/set me back though because that only has encompassed a very small percentage of my interactions with the community.

8. As far as I know, no there isn’t any tensions but it could be more geographical. Down south we normally don’t have any issues with Asians but the west coast could be different

9. Yep, in NYC especially. A lot of casual racism between blacks and asians, but only the former are willing to act on it.

10. It depends on the region. I’m a black (aa) woman from the south and my partner is a asian (korean) man from the west. There’s a history of black/asian conflicts as many have mentioned (Latasha Harlins & the roof top koreans- but those specific koreans would’ve shot anyone lmao) and most if any animosity comes from interacting on a consumer vs owner basis only. The two groups just don’t routinely overlap in the US in other situations.

    His friends hated me but his family liked me and we got stares here and there when we went to Koreatown. My family already had a long history with other asians so it wasn’t a n eyebrow raiser.

    The majority of the racism I’ve experienced *has* come from asians, like a lot of others but I don’t see that as a conflict. We just haven’t broken down the social barriers yet.

11. Not many Asian Americans commenting here so I’ll chime in! I’m Asian American and live in a very white state. Only had one black friend growing up and we weren’t SUPER close, just classmates who ran in the same circles. Race never came up between us other than sometimes rolling our eyes at “white girl things” like Starbucks and Uggs.

    But later on in college I was relatively active in academic/activist circles were we could speak freely about race. In general, in my experience the black students in the circles needed just as much… guiding/educating as white students on Asians and asian Americans. I was a board member on our “asian club” lol and we had some very productive discussions about race when we had events with the black student union, particularly about model minority myths. (The idea that because Asians are “successful” in the US, so it is a personal failing of other racial minority groups used to discredit structural racism that ignores the nuances of how extremely diverse the term “asian American” is). Just like the white students, they had never been taught about Asian American history in history class, but the Asian Americans students certainly learned about slavery/civil rights movement framed in a very black v. White way. If I HAD to make a generalization is that Asian Americans know a LOT more about black people than black people know about Asian Americans. And in that way they might share the same stereotypes as the “majority”

    Asian students also talked about how their own relatives had a lot of prejudices against black people… and believed those model minority myths themselves… also just holding “majority” views

    But this was in an academic setting with educated students who were choosing to participate and willing to learn.

    Outside of those circles, I personally haven’t seen any “better or worse” racism between the groups. I’ve experienced more racism from white people but I also know more white people. If I had to take any particular observation is that non-white people don’t consider that THEY can be discriminatory too. Being a POC doesn’t automatically mean you get a free pass to say whatever you want bc you’re not white… ex- you don’t get to just say slurs about anyone bc you’re not white. Seen it from all sides… black people thinking they’re being cute saying “chinky” and Asian bros not getting why it’s offensive to say the n word etc etc

12. Literally depends on where you live/visit within the US.

13. Most people in this country are decent people that mind their own business. The loud ones are the minority by far.

14. Over the last two years every single one of my Asian American friends has been subject to race based bigotry from black people on the street

    I’m in NYC, some have been spit on, one was hit, and others just got called racist things.

    However, it’s not like an Asian v black thing, cuz it’s mostly mentally ill and homeless people who are doing these things to them. So I wouldn’t paint the whole NYC black community with anti Asian bias.

    But still, every time they have been physically or verbally assaulted it was a black guy

15. OP idk where you are getting the idea there is significant tension between just black people and asians. I am black myself with several asian friends pls stay off the news. Anti asian attacks have been happening all over the country and it hasnt been just black people targetting them to say there is significant tension between our communities is kind of a reach. The only thing I can think of is the “model minority” stereotype people put onto asians but even then most people know that it is bullshit because asians are discriminated against all the time.

16. In real life, I’ve never seen it. I (Asian-American) see a lot of hatred online from both sides, mostly after the wave of Asian hate crimes last year.

17. Here in Los Angeles, I can tell you it does exist. Mostly out of fear honestly. Some Asian folk quickly retreat and act defensive when they see a black man approaching, and black people honestly dont care about Asians until they get bad stares. I commuted downtown and I saw this exact scenario play out countless times. I was doing some remodeling at a condo complex in Koreatown and my lead guy is black and was covered in mud and drywall dust, when he passed through the lobby and into the parking lot to get some stuff outta my truck a tenant questioned him and called security on him because they thought he was homeless.

18. I’m Black and know that there are/have been tensions between Black and Asian people in some parts of the U.S. On a personal level, I have never seen it, and have always gotten along with Asians I interacted with whether they were friends, acquaintances, teachers, etc. Please don’t think Black people have it out for Asian people or vice versa just because some members of each group don’t like each other.

    Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people make ignorant comments, especially if they mistake you for a different Asian culture (one of my relatives thought my Japanese-American friend was Chinese when they first met), but be aware that it’s not always done out of malice.

19. It’s one of those things I’ve heard about but have never seen. As for me, I mean, no Asian has ever done anything to warrant those sort of feelings. And even then, I wouldn’t blame a whole race for the actions of one or a couple people.

20. So, I’m an Asian-American living in the NY metro area and i haven’t experienced any racial tensions personally. That said, i live in a predominantly white neighborhood so it’s not exactly a fair assessment.

    When i do visit areas that have a much larger black population (including NYC) or meet black folks in social settings, there has never been any conflict.

    Not saying that black-on-Asian hate doesn’t occur but I’d like to think that there is an underlying media agenda to bump up/highlight stories where the mentally ill/psychotic/drug-induced black person hurts an innocent bystander who just happens to be Asian.

    NGL, there has always been a weird racial tension between certain racial groups but i’d also like to point out socio-economic factors into this. I don’t fear for my life driving to/from my job and living in my very middle class neighborhood surrounded by other middle class families (regardless of race).

    I did tense up a bit when i did visit a very sketchy area of SF (Tenderloin) as well as “white trash” areas of the midwest as well as heavily Latin areas full of chollos. But nothing happened (knock on wood)

    If you think about it, not exactly race specific.

21. I’m a black man married to a Thai immigrant so I do have some insight, especially after being imbedded in and interacting with the Thai community in South Florida for a long time.

    Tension absolutely exists but it’s so much better than it used to be in the 90s and early 2000s. I do find Thai people to care less about race than other Asian nationalities but they are often on the receiving end of racist remarks and treatment originating from black people, especially from customers in the restaurant industry.

    Most of the racism originating from Thai people doesn’t come from a place of hate, it comes from cultural differences and misunderstandings.

    That being said, things are pretty much better than they used to be and is only getting better. Don’t believe the news pumping up racially motivated violent incidents. They’re not all that common.

22. I personally think it’s a unique situation but I think problems vary by location. I’m a Haitian American currently living in a area with a dense Korean population and it’s odd. Asian folks (especially middle aged or older), are tense around me if they believe I am African-American, but are relaxed once they find out about my immigrant background. Younger Asian people don’t care at all.

    Reddit will have you believe that Asian and African-American individuals are on the brink civil war, but from I’ve seen, you get repeat Black offenders terrorizing some parts of the Asian-American community repeatedly, and increasing tensions within the area.

    I’ve written a couple of long comments on Reddit breaking down how what I think about the issue, but the truth is, there are tensions in various areas. And such tensions have existed in certain neighborhoods for a very long time. Certain situations, such as the killing of Latasha Harlins (and the subsequent ‘92 riots), have permanently divided or changed certain African-American and Asian-American communities. Which is unfortunate.

    However, I roll around within a couple of Asian/ Asian-American circles (my father remarried a Filipino woman), the relations between Black folks and Asians just vary.

    Also, depending on the age group, certain members of the population still recall the string of wars that occurred within the Asian continent, and still hold the racial prejudices of the time.

23. As an Asian dude with black friends, it does happen within our country. Look at the LA riots and rooftop Koreans. Incredible racial tensions tore the city apart. Something that needs to be discussed, but no one really wants to approach the topic.

24. Yes to some degree, but it is NOT a significant degree. I am a African American male and sometimes when I walk around in san Francisco I get looked at by older Asian people. But that’s about it. Younger asian people are fine, and when I’m working, I see Asian people of all ages, but they don’t look at me like I’m a threat.
    So in conclusion, I believe it’s a small undetectable degree of tension.

    Edit: There are multiple news stories of attacks against Asians, here is one that I found.
    [Attacks on Asian people](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/03/30/police-search-for-attacker-in-hate-crime-attack-on-asian-woman.html)

25. Disclaimer: I’m white

    But from what I’ve gathered listening to black people online; a lot of beauty supply stores, specifically ones that cater to black women, are owned and operated by Asian women who then hold racist views on black people and will follow them around the store to accuse them of stealing

    There’s also a lot of appropriation of black culture in younger Asian people that I’ve seen people talk about

26. I’ve never experienced it myself, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I have heard news of the attacks against Asians committed by AA regularly over the past three years. Despite what you may hear, they do get a lot of coverage. The belief that black people are never held accountable for black-on-Asian racism is an exaggeration. The reason it’s such a hot button issue is because of how quickly conversations of minority violence divulge into outright justification of violence against black people. People use these crimes (often committed by the homeless, mentally ill, or yes down right degenerates) as an excuse for anti-black sentiment. And any attempt to contextualize the violence, like mentioning how the model minority myth was used to further shame and stigmatize AA, is viewed as an excuse.

    Apparently, black people are just inherent criminals who are just naturally predisposed to behaving more violently. There are absolutely no structural or generational barriers for AA to achieve the same type of success. It’s a nifty little trick used to keep us divided, and it works well because (in my experience) many Asians are eager to adopt a tone of superiority over other groups. So both groups have an underlying prejudice towards each other and assume the other automatically hates them. Because we rarely interact outside of major urban areas, these beliefs are allowed to fester. And the limited interactions we do have with each other that are negative confirm the biases we have for the whole group.

    Where I am from in the south, the attitudes we have towards Asians are indifferent. My home town had a high concentration of Vietnamese and Korean refugees during the 50s-70s so there is a heavy Asian presence. I’ve never had an issue with Asian people until these attacks started to happen and then I realized just how pervasive these beliefs (on both ends) really are.

27. I feel like there is, at least some if not significant, based on what I’ve seen and read. I’ve seen some Asians admist the wave of anti-Asian hate crime get angry at not getting justice when a hate crime is perpetuated by another POC. Paraphrasing here, things like “And why aren’t black people talking about this?” and “Black perpetuators deserve the same scrutiny” and other stuff of a similar vein. And I’ve seen comments by some black people saying that Asians are more privileged or they too weren’t talking enough about the systemic racism black people face. And then those two sides usually get pretty nasty with each other.

    Though this was on the Internet, meaning people get to say fuck-all, it still reveals a hidden sentiment.

    These were things I’ve heard from relatively younger people (adult Gen Z and millennials.)

    Again, some Asians. Some black people. On the Internet. In reality, many of us are in solidarity and understanding with each other, as it should be. The anger is real but taking it out on others and entire groups of people isn’t excusable.

28. Elderly Asians often live in low income areas, rely on public transportation and walking. They make easy victims of opportunity for assholes, criminals, and insane people.

    Some of the high profile incidents against Asians have also happened against elderly Latinos, for the same reasons.

29. I’m actually biracial (half Asian half black) and I’ve experienced racism from both sides. As an asian, I do agree that ‘most’ black people think they are excused from being racist because of their “oppression.” But what bothers me is it seems the asian community only sees the racist black people, and groups them in with the rest of us. Growing up raised by black women, I’ve realized that there are many “normal” black people out there but the media only shows one kind so it does this thing where young and impressionable black people are forced to fit into this standard. I remember getting picked on by other black people for liking rock music and talking proper, and even my Hispanic and Asian friends thought I acted “white.” Thankfully I was raised to go against the grain and do what’s considered uncomfortable for people of the black community. And funny enough, my asian side of the family hated me for not “fitting into” what they thought was an ‘okay’ standard for them. I was already black, my mom and dad were NOT married, and they knew very little about my mother. Every time I would come over they would offer to watch my bags for me and I caught them a couple times going through my things to see if I stole anything (dude I was like 7) while their sons and daughters stole things right from underneath them (I wouldn’t be surprised if they blamed it on me). Fast forward to today (I’m 22 years old), I work at a clothing store alley way and it’s ran mostly by Koreans and Indians. They are GENUINELY surprised that I talk proper and I am respectful. They still treated me differently than their other employees (who were mostly Hispanic). Every time they would walk past me doing something they would murmur something under their breath and seem unimpressed by me. They gave me less hours. No one would warm up to me until I proved to them I had common sense and retail experience. Not to mention the workers they hired all talk trash about them in Spanish and do the bare minimum but act like they’re working as hard as they can in front of our owners. I genuinely feel like I’m overqualified to work here sometimes (I used to be a secretary at a construction firm, lost my job due to Covid). They always make little mistakes like tagging the wrong sizes on the merchandise or carelessly displaying the clothes because they don’t want to work too hard. But I get over looked because they already had an “idea” of who I was before they got to know me.

    I guess to answer the question, they are both racist. Haha black people are ignorant, they’ve been taught to be ignorant for years. I understand that colonization happened to literally EVERY race, but what’s a little upsetting to me is black people have literally had their integrity stripped form them. Their culture has been taken from them and they’ve been scattered around the world. In most Asian cultures, people were brought to their continent and they were forced to learn new ways. Yes there were slaves, but when does the media ever show these things? Media plays a big role in what people think of themselves—-just as social media plays a big role in teenage/adult self esteem. If the focus of oppression was spread a little more evenly, maybe black people and Asian people could identify with one another better. Maybe black people could regain hope and start to educate themselves better. Maybe Asian people would stop forcing their European based beliefs on their own community (lighter skin, being wealthy and powerful, sexism, living the American dream, etc.)

    I’ve lived in the shoes of both. Been made fun of my eyes, got called rice ball or china even though I’m not Chinese, been told I’m too dark, or been looked at as if I’m ignorant or going to steal. I honestly get so confused because we’re all just the same. We’re all ran in a white world where no one should be happy other than white people. It’s funny to me they call us minorities but when you really think about it, how can white people out number ALL of us? We’re lowk letting them? Lol idk I’m just a 22 year old girl who goes to school for dental cosmetics. What do I even know about socialism?

30. Yes. I used to teach at a school in Philadelphia. In my first year I noticed all of the Asian kids hanging around talking to teachers after school, they wouldn’t leave until all of their friends were gathered. They would then walk home in large groups of 10+.

    I thought it was sweet that they were polite and waited for their friends, but then I found out they do it for safety.

    If an Asian kid walked home by themselves, they had a really good chance of getting jumped (unprovoked group attack on 1 individual) by black students, who made up 80% of our school population.

    And I’m talking it would be really bad. 3-8 black kids would wait behind a corner and jump out and assault any Asian walking by themselves, not even adults were safe. They’d get beat into the hospital.

    Tons and tons of racism from the black kids towards the Asian kids. Of course with time the Asian kids learned to hate the black kids and it was really nasty.

    So glad I don’t work there anymore.

31. In theory? Kinda. The Model Minority kinda works on this. Asians are stereoptyped as the kind of hardworking, won’t question authority, and intelligent “other.” Black people (specifically the African Americans that have been here for generations, specifically through slavery) are stereotyped as shit-stirring, loud, unintelligent and belligerent. Many immigrants internalize this, even black ones, so _that’s_ where the tension tends to lie.

    You have to be a smart, modest, and accommodating immigrant to be a “good” immigrant. You don’t want to be seen as “urban trash.”

32. Don’t google Los Angeles’s 90s history.