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February is Black History Month.
After the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officers, I was co-supervising a group of master’s level marriage and family therapy students. We were processing the racial injustice in the United States along with the BLM movement. A few of the students were quite passionate about the topic while other students did not have as much knowledge about racial tensions in the US.
I could feel a lot of tension building up in the supervision group, and a lot of the tension had to do with hurt, unresolved trauma, and the lack of knowledge around racial/social injustice overall. We were half way into the supervision group when one student brought up that she didn’t understand why everyone were only supporting blacks while others (race/socioeconomic statuses/etc.) were struggling as well.
This was the point where I had to step in, and this is what I said:
We are not denying the injustices that everyone experiences. Racial minorities experienced a lot of discrimination and injustices based on the color of their skin. Working class and individuals living in poverty experienced a lot of discrimination and injustices based on how much wealth they have. LGBTQ+ experienced a lot of discrimination and injustices based on who they loved, who they were sexually attracted to, who they truly were on the inside, etc.
I saw a photo on Facebook about how a teacher described the BLM movement and why she was behind it as a white middle-class woman. We are all living in these houses. The houses are the different types of discrimination and injustices that we were experiencing. Currently, the house where the African American individuals are in is on fire. Our job is to help them put out the fire. Yes, we are experiencing discrimination and injustice as well but our house is not on fire yet.
We are not denying the injustices that everyone experiences. As an Asian American woman, I have been fetishized by white men. Asian American men are viewed as weak and not desirable. We were forced into a myth called the model minority where we were perceived as smarter and richer than other racial minorities. We were denied help and assistance because we’re supposed to be “good” at stuff. And the history of Asian Americans is another story for another time.
Poor white individuals experienced a lot of discrimination and injustices because they did not have access to the money and tools to live up to the “American dream.” Indigenous individuals were mass murdered, had their land stolen, had their children kidnapped, and were stripped of their cultures/traditions/languages/beliefs/etc. The list goes on.
The rich and those in power tried to divide everyone based on race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, etc. so that we fight each other for resources instead of fighting together against a system that was set up to keep us at the bottom. We were sent the message that we have to fight each other for limited resources when in fact, there are a lot of resources out there. Enough resources for everyone, more than enough.
To bring us back to the point that I was making, no, we are not denying anyone’s experiences with discrimination and injustices. We believe that everyone is experiencing discrimination and injustices. All we are saying is that right now our Black brothers and sisters are suffering; their house is burning, so let’s help them. Let’s help them put out that fire. When your house or my house is burning, then it’s their turn to help us put out that fire.
My job is to not force you to believe one way or another. It is to help explain things in a way that you can understand. Do what you will with the information that I provide.
A little background on my knowledge of race, socioeconomic statuses, etc. is that I majored in Sociology and minored in Anthropology and Asian American Studies when I was working on my Bachelor’s degree.
ARA COUNSELING 