For 35 years, New York City’s Asian American queer community has organized, resisted, and thrived. Their story is a microcosm of a nationwide movement that transformed queer Asian American activism, art, and acceptance across the nation.
From the West Coast’s Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, founded in 1980, to the Midwest’s Asian American Lesbian and Gay Alliance, established in 1988, communities across the country were mobilizing to address the unique experiences of queer Asian Americans, who often felt marginalized within both the Asian American and LGBTQ+ communities.
At the start of the 1990s, anti-Asian violence surged in New York City and across the nation, increasing by an alarming rate up 680% from 1985 to 1990. Local anti-Asian violence groups created flyers detailing the New York City Police Department’s Bias unit report of 3,254 reported rapes in NYC in 1989. The surge was not isolated; it mirrored a national rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans, fueled by xenophobia and stereotypes.
Local anti-Asian violence groups created flyers detailing the New York City Police Department’s Bias unit report of 3,254 reported rapes in NYC in 1989. The surge was not isolated; it mirrored a national rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans, fueled by xenophobia and stereotypes.Lesbian Herstory Archives
Mobilization was necessary, and the images pulled for this article reveal the power of coalition building, reflection, and radical joy in the Asian-American struggle for justice and visibility. Their legacy continues to inspire and inform present-day activism, as the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic has tragically underscored the ongoing need for solidarity and resistance.
The “Miss Saigon” protests: A watershed moment in queer Asian American activism
In the spring of 1991, New York City became a battleground for a pivotal moment in queer Asian American activism. The announcement that the Lambda Legal Defense Fund and the…
Read the full article here
