Just Another Asian Am Worker
May Day, Central Ohio
Written on May 1, 2017. Still applies.
In Central Ohio, Asian origin workers are not thought about often when we talk about workers, or immigrants, or people of color.
But here I am and here we are.
Today I am asserting my presence:
— as an immigrant, born in Ahmedabad
— as a member of an immigrant community, whose mother tongue is Gujarati
— as the child of two unionized teachers
— as a non-union worker in the education industry
— as a Asian person of color seeking racial justice and fighting discrimination
— as a revolutionary socialist
— as a dad who is proudly passing on the values I have learned from all of these experiences
One May Day we will do chants in an Asian language and on that day I will scream.
Solidarity is learned. We build solidarity and learn what it is by doing solidarity. Solidarity is an active verb.
Happy May Day!
