Interesting data! I am Taiwanese American and my husband is Black. The two of us had seemingly mirrored college experiences in different universities, where I encountered more Black peers than I ever had previously and he attended an elite university and found himself surrounded by many East Asian/Asian American students.
Sounds like a fascinating love story. I'm sure you have lots of wisdom about how to learn about another culture and be patient as someone else learns more about yours.
I appreciate this post so much, Jemar! Thank you for your challenge to us to be more intentional about the folks we develop friendships with as well as your own intentionality. I think it's especially important for those of us who identify as "white" to do our homework as well before in engaging in such relationships. We should be careful not to place such folks into positions where we expect them to teach us anything!
Thanks, Julie. I think some of the most startling data is just how homogenous many white people and their friendship networks are. Segregation has been remarkably effective, and it will take intense focus and intentionality to knock down those walls of division.
Thank you for this piece, Jemar. I am so glad you visited the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. We have read your books at my church and consider you as teacher and friend even though we’ve never met. The videos that came with Color of Compromise left our group feeling like we sat with you as we learned and processed what we read. As an immigrant’s child from Japan, I have wondered about the tension between Black and Asian people so this is a data point that helps to explain one dimension, while the other comments about being respectful, open mind/open heart and having genuine curiosity about each person we meet to learn their story, and, with a spirit of humility at the root of our interactions will hopefully create some meaningful and beautiful friendships that might reflect a bit of heaven on earth. Appreciate you and thankful for your work and voice!
Thank you for this thought post. I appreciate how you give meaning to the statistics and make us think about who are friends and relations are and why. I was particularly struck by:
“People are not Pokémon cards. We do not collect them to fill the demographic gaps in our social life.
Instead, we approach others with humility knowing that their experience of the world holds treasures of wisdom and convinced that their absence, and their presence, matter to us and the world.”
People of others cultures and ethnicities DO hold treasures of wisdom and stories that enrich our life’s and help us understand what it means to be human. I am blessed to have friends and family who are black, Asian, Hispanic and indigenous, as well as white. I am so grateful for how they have opened my white-bred world view and revealed beauty and understanding in ways I had never considered or perceived.
Thank you. I think it's crucial to understand diversity as a reality that is not simply "nice to have" but essential, something critical is missing if we don't have the voices and experiences of different kinds of people.
Thank you for this post and your personal reflection, Jemar. I'm third generation Japanese American and was born and raised in Seattle, walking distance from Wing Luke's parents' little corner market. I appreciate and want to add my personal commitment to being intentional about developing friendships across racial and cultural differences.
Dr. Tisby, thanks for your time-intensive, thorough research with thought-provoking writings.
I think of the U.S. internment camps for people with Japanese heritage, some reparations, & the apology in the Japanese American Memorial Garden, https://www.nps.gov/places/japanese-american-memorial-to-patriotism-during-world-war-ii.htm "Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law." Pres. Reagan (who was the "bridge figure" for the religious right with white supremacy, War on Drugs, & Contra War for which Israel mediated for the U.S. & Iran. ¡Las Sandinistas! 2018, https://www.lassandinistas.com/)
I remembered that May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. I ask how I can learn, respect, & honor our Jewish friends (& AANPHI) too. "We know that combatting antisemitism and advocating for the rights of Palestinians are not opposed--they have to happen simultaneously." telosgroup.org
Precisely. And "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May that vision be manifest now and not just in heaven. Thanks for sharing your post!
Interesting data! I am Taiwanese American and my husband is Black. The two of us had seemingly mirrored college experiences in different universities, where I encountered more Black peers than I ever had previously and he attended an elite university and found himself surrounded by many East Asian/Asian American students.
Sounds like a fascinating love story. I'm sure you have lots of wisdom about how to learn about another culture and be patient as someone else learns more about yours.
I appreciate this post so much, Jemar! Thank you for your challenge to us to be more intentional about the folks we develop friendships with as well as your own intentionality. I think it's especially important for those of us who identify as "white" to do our homework as well before in engaging in such relationships. We should be careful not to place such folks into positions where we expect them to teach us anything!
Thanks, Julie. I think some of the most startling data is just how homogenous many white people and their friendship networks are. Segregation has been remarkably effective, and it will take intense focus and intentionality to knock down those walls of division.
Thank you for this, Jemar!
Thank you! I appreciate the way you teach us about culture through your art and instruction.
Thank you for this piece, Jemar. I am so glad you visited the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. We have read your books at my church and consider you as teacher and friend even though we’ve never met. The videos that came with Color of Compromise left our group feeling like we sat with you as we learned and processed what we read. As an immigrant’s child from Japan, I have wondered about the tension between Black and Asian people so this is a data point that helps to explain one dimension, while the other comments about being respectful, open mind/open heart and having genuine curiosity about each person we meet to learn their story, and, with a spirit of humility at the root of our interactions will hopefully create some meaningful and beautiful friendships that might reflect a bit of heaven on earth. Appreciate you and thankful for your work and voice!
Thank you for this thought post. I appreciate how you give meaning to the statistics and make us think about who are friends and relations are and why. I was particularly struck by:
“People are not Pokémon cards. We do not collect them to fill the demographic gaps in our social life.
Instead, we approach others with humility knowing that their experience of the world holds treasures of wisdom and convinced that their absence, and their presence, matter to us and the world.”
People of others cultures and ethnicities DO hold treasures of wisdom and stories that enrich our life’s and help us understand what it means to be human. I am blessed to have friends and family who are black, Asian, Hispanic and indigenous, as well as white. I am so grateful for how they have opened my white-bred world view and revealed beauty and understanding in ways I had never considered or perceived.
Thank you. I think it's crucial to understand diversity as a reality that is not simply "nice to have" but essential, something critical is missing if we don't have the voices and experiences of different kinds of people.
Thank you for this post and your personal reflection, Jemar. I'm third generation Japanese American and was born and raised in Seattle, walking distance from Wing Luke's parents' little corner market. I appreciate and want to add my personal commitment to being intentional about developing friendships across racial and cultural differences.
Dr. Tisby, thanks for your time-intensive, thorough research with thought-provoking writings.
I think of the U.S. internment camps for people with Japanese heritage, some reparations, & the apology in the Japanese American Memorial Garden, https://www.nps.gov/places/japanese-american-memorial-to-patriotism-during-world-war-ii.htm "Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law." Pres. Reagan (who was the "bridge figure" for the religious right with white supremacy, War on Drugs, & Contra War for which Israel mediated for the U.S. & Iran. ¡Las Sandinistas! 2018, https://www.lassandinistas.com/)
And still, we work for voting rights, repair, & reparations for descendants of our enslaved people (as listed in the HRW webpage & voting guide, https://www.hrw.org/ReparationsNow; https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/07/human-rights-guide-2024-us-elections)
I remembered that May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. I ask how I can learn, respect, & honor our Jewish friends (& AANPHI) too. "We know that combatting antisemitism and advocating for the rights of Palestinians are not opposed--they have to happen simultaneously." telosgroup.org
Revelation 7:9 comes to mind...
https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathanbrownson/p/praying-for?r=gdp9j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Precisely. And "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May that vision be manifest now and not just in heaven. Thanks for sharing your post!