We Are All Immigrants: Standing Together in Power & Solidarity

This past week we’ve watched with heavy hearts as ICE agents, the National Guard, and US Marines have been deployed against immigrants and individuals standing up in support of our communities. These deployments, to enforce this immigration policy, don’t make us safer. Instead, they vilify and instill fear in communities of color who have come to this country looking to contribute in the hopes of building a better life.

This year, we celebrate the Artist/Activist. In the last few weeks, we’ve screened a documentary about the activist Yuri Kochiyama, and another about Muhsin Hendricks, the world's first openly gay imam. We celebrated a new book by Palestinian American author Sarah Aziza with a fundraiser to support families in Gaza. We believe the arts have the incredible ability to build community and understanding, and as we see decency, empathy, and integrity leave our politics, we heed the call to protect our communities. Asian Arts welcomes all who wish to learn about the Asian diaspora to join us in declaring what we know is and should be true: we are all immigrants, Philadelphia is a sanctuary city, and no human is illegal.

For more information on what to do if an ICE agent is at your home, please read this handout in English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Cambodian.

In power & solidarity,

Asian Arts Initiative