About
The Blasian March is a solidarity action between Black/African, Asian and mixed Blasian communities. This is achieved through education on parallel struggles with white colonial settler violence and mutual celebration of our lives.
The first Blasian March took place on Oct 11, 2020 in New York City. All speakers were women, LGBT and/or disabled, including a written statement from organizers currently residing in Palestine. Protestors used music and dancing to build solidarity with chants such as “Black Lives Matter,” “Asians 4 Black Lives,” and “Black Power, Asian Power.” This action marked the 6 year anniversary of the murder of trans Filipina woman Jennifer Laude by US marine Michael Pemberton. Protesters in New York City honored her by chanting “Justice for Jennifer.”
The Blasian March collaborated with a team of women of color to hold the End The Violence Towards Asians Rally: Let’s Unite Against White Nationalism on February 20, 2021. This action was covered by NextShark, Mic, andAJ+. Photographers such as Mel D. Cole and Cindy Trinh attended, where the globally viral protest slogan Love Our People Like U Love Our Food, created by Asian American community leader Jess Ng, first appeared.
On June 5, 2021, the Blasian March held a Black Asian Pride Rally to celebrate Black, Asian, and Blasian communities for Pride month. All speakers were Black, Asian, Native American, and Blasian queer women. Iman Le Caire, founder of Trans Asylias and one of the BBC 100 Women of 2021, performed belly dance to an Arabic song she composed about the Black trans icon Marsha P. Johnson. The traditional Filipino music group Kinding Sindaw danced and performed music as protestors marched with chants including "Justice For Asians, Justice For Black People," and "Black Asian Freedom." A TikTok video earned 29.1K views. The Blasian March New Haven chapter, led and co-founded by Yale University students Chidima Anekwe and Sunehra Subah, held its first rally in conjunction with the New York City Blasian March One Year Anniversary Black Asian Trans Power Rally, Oct 16 2021. The Instagram accounts lgbt, lgbtq, and pride highlighted this Blasian March action. The action also received a shoutout on the podcast Bad Queers Podcast.
Blasian March Los Angeles held its first rally on May 22, 2022, marking the 30 year anniversary of the L.A. Riots. This action was the Black Asian Solidarity Trans Power Rally, featuring all trans speakers and performing artists including Luckie Alexander, YK Hong, and Blossom C. Brown. In collaboration with the twice Golden Crane Award-winning podcast Militantly Mixed, GYOPO, Stop Discrimination and Mixed Present, Blasian Mach Los Angeles leader and chapter founder Lee Painter Kim orchestrated a live podcast recording at East West Players, the largest and longest running Asian American theatre company in the United States.
The second annual Black Asian Pride Rally occurred June 4, 2022, which centered Black, Asian and Blasian LGBT immigrants. A protest chant on Instagram saw 75.3K views, and the highlights reel saw 24.4K views.Blasian March Chicago rally took place on July 30, 2022, and was covered by Chicago Reader, Newsy, and NBC Chicago. This was led by Columbia College student Kait Venturina and local organizer Eun Kyun Chee.On December 9, 2022, at the Caribbean Equality Project’s Queeribean Crossing conference, the first ever LGBT-themed conference at CUNY, the Blasian March received a certificate from The Public Advocate For the City of New York in affirmation of the “work to unite diverse Brooklyn communities in love, fellowship, and support.”