Author: YES!

Borrowing from W. E. B. Du Bois’ color-line metaphor, some racial justice activists have asked whether Asian Americans are “left or right of the color line.” How we answer these questions holds important implications for movements around racial justice and equity. These are also questions that we have both confronted as womxn who are a second-generation queer Punjabi American and a second-generation Hong Konger American. Are Asian Americans White? No, Asian Americans are not white. It’s true that certain socioeconomic and demographic measures, such as aggregate income and education levels, suggest that on average Asian Americans are among the...

The narrative promoted by White Supremacy has historically fed animosity between Black people and Jewish people, and it remains the driving source for hate and violence in the nation. Two recent attacks against the Jewish community in the New York City area have come at the hands of people of color, specifically Black Americans. Trained as we are to think in terms of White supremacy and White nationalism when it comes to anti-Semitism, these attacks by people of color on Jews might seem surprising. Indeed, they have left some media outlets and pundits speechless on the topic of race...

The voice that sprung from my throat was unfamiliar as I introduced myself to a classroom of White students. Its tone was high-pitched and enthusiastic — a far cry from my naturally soft raspiness. It wasn’t the first time I was unsettled by being the sole Black person in a room, but these moments had a profound effect on me. Without thought, I’d shifted my demeanor and speech. My thoughts were calculated, quickened, and in search of the “right” things to say. The words poured from my mouth pointed and stiff. I enunciated each consonant and vowel, and stressed...

Many people are asking if overpopulation will break the planet, a fear compounded by the lack of attention given to the issue by elected officials. Panicked discussions of the climate crisis on this stressed planet are often bolstered by background debate on how fast the Earth’s population is growing, and questions of how many people the planet can support. To be sure, a sevenfold increase of the world population over two centuries has stressed the planet to its breaking point. But the problem is not strictly the number of people. It is how people are behaving. A close look...