2018.8.3 Nail Salon Assault – JACL NY (2)Friday, August 10th, 2018
JACL, NEW YORK CHAPTER CONDEMNS THE ACT OF VIOLENCE OF NEW RED APPLE NAIL SALON EMPLOYEES AGAINST THREE BLACK WOMEN CUSTOMERS IN BROOKLYN
NEW YORK, NY – During this past weekend, a video circulated on social media of a black family (a daughter, her mother, and her grandmother) who was attacked by Asian nail salon workers in Brooklyn. The incident occurred at the New Red Apple Nail Salon in East Flatbush after one of the women told the salon owner that she was unhappy about the eyebrow treatment she received, and would pay for all other services except for the $5 brow treatment. Following this, salon employees attacked all three women with broomsticks and even sprayed acetone onto them. Police were called, resulting in one of the black women and one employee being arrested.
The Japanese American Citizens League, New York Chapter condemns this act of violence against the black women clients, and we reiterate and reaffirm our opposition to anti-black violence and racism, especially within the Asian-American community. We call on both communities, as well as all communities of color, to unite and work towards promoting an interactive dialogue between our communities through organizations and individuals. We hope that as a result, we can find common ground within these complex cultural issues in the fight for racial and social justice for all marginalized communities.
Asian-American and African-American communities have historically had tensions, specifically due to the Model Minority Myth that pitted our communities against each other since the 1960s and the anti-blackness rampant in our communities. This nail salon attack and boycott is not an isolated incident in New York City, where many Asian-Americans open businesses in Black communities but fail to actively involve and give back to the local Black communities (see: 1984 in Harlem, 1986 in Jamaica, and 1988 in BedStuy).
However, there is also a long history of solidarity between the Asian-American and African-American communities in the fight for equal justice and civil liberties for communities of color. Specifically for the Japanese-American community, some of the staunchest supporters of Japanese-Americans’ rights came from the Black community, including Hugh Macbeth and Ron Dellums. Famously, Yuri Kochiyama was a key symbol of Asian and Black solidarity, transferring her experience from her close involvement with the Black Power movement to become an influential leader in the Asian-American movement in New York.
It is crucial we recognize that many of the privileges and benefits that we enjoy today as Asian-Americans are owed to the Black-led fight for civil rights and to our Black brothers and sisters. It is also important to recognize that these privileges and benefits of claiming “model minority” status have also largely come at the direct expense of the Black community.
We cannot afford to allow anti-black violence and racism to continue to divide our communities. Just as many African-Americans defended the Japanese-American community in its struggles when it was most needed, we must stand by the Black community in its own fight for justice.
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The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote cultural, educational, and social values and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community. For more information about JACL NY, visit JACL-NY.org.