Peter Liang, a Chinese American NYPD officer shot and killed Akai Gurley, an unarmed, Black man in a Brooklyn housing project. Liang was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct.  His conviction aroused divided responses in the Asian American community. Some Asian Americans feel that Liang has been used as a political concession to Black Lives Matters' protestors. Many other Asian Americans, however, have taken a more radical stance and been mobilizing to hold all police accountable. They stand for broader racial justice in solidarity with communities of color and the Black Lives Matters movement. 

On February 20, 2016, thousands of Asian Americans took to the streets in major US cities to protest the conviction of Liang, marking the first massive protest of Asian Americans in years. It is telling to see that on one hand, Asian Americans are developing a new political articulation instead of being politically silent; on the other hand, the first massive protest by Asian Americans in the U.S. was held in defense of a police officer who killed an innocent black man. 

Please join us this Thursday evening for a community conversation on Asian American organizing, police brutality in communities of color, interracial solidarity organizing, and the challenges and opportunities around these issues.

Sponsored by Center for Asian American Studies, Asian Desi Pacific Islander Collective (APAC), Students for Equity and Diversity (SED), and Austin Cultural Salon (奥斯汀文化沙龙).