Hundreds of Asian Americans marched from Chicago’s Chinatown and Bridgeport on Sunday to display solidarity and support of Black lives.
The 1.8 mile rally was organized by the Asian American Christian Collaborative. Demonstrators from Asian religious organizations marched between two historic Chicago churches: the Chinese Christian Union Church (CCUC) and the Bronzeville Progressive Baptist Church.
The Chicago Sun Times reported the two churches rarely interacted or helped each other throughout the past century, until Sunday.
Chris Javier, CCUC deacon and one of the organizers of the rally, told the Sun Times, “For too long, the Asian American Christian church has been silent on tons of matters, especially when it comes to race.”
“This is the end of silence. This is us pledging to stop that, to start using our voice on behalf of those that are hurting, even if they don’t look like us.”
Javier said CCUC recognized its duty to support issues outside of Chinatown, especially in the wake of George Floyd’s death and when “the Black Church was hurting.”
ABC7 dubbed the march between these two neighborhoods as a symbolic “commitment to building a bridge between Asian American and Black Communities.”
David Wu, executive director of the Pui Tak Center stressed, “We have to speak out when we see injustice, especially as Asian Americans have faced discrimination because of COVID,” according to ABC7.
“If we feel strongly about that and we’re against that, we also have to be against the anti-Black racism that has been rooted in our American system,” State Representative Theresa Mah added.
A group of approximately 1,000 demonstrators marched from Ping Tom Memorial Park. On their way to Bridgeport, the crowd joined hands to pray and listened to speeches at notable spots — including the parking lot at Wells and Cullerton Streets where a Black man allegedly murdered two Chinese men in February.
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