All that AAPI Cannot Contain

LIBERATION LECTIONARY ~ PENTECOST

“It’s not researching, it’s searching.” Jasmine Togo-Brisby

Scripture: Philippians 4

Read the 4th Chapter of Philippians this week.

Key Verses Philippians 4.4-13

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Lesson: Pentecost in Pasifika

Fitting that Pentecost should happen during Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month. Some thought leaders ponder if we should even include Asian and Pasifika Cultural Celebration in the same month, considering for example the vast differences between the country of India and the islands of Hawaii. There might be a change in future cultural remembrances and celebrations, which we will await to be brought about by the people of Asia and Pasifika. But any change that expands the liberation experience is a shift brought about by the Spirit. Consider the common sense of Black History before “Black History Week” and after. Before Hispanic to Latinx to Latine Heritage Month… and after. Asian American Month to AAPI to ANHPI. Pride Month has meant LGB, LGBT+Q+I+A++ and on and on. We could not communicate effectively if we did not raise up the causes and concerns of so many of these identities. We know a God whose imagination is shared as widely with all the nations and kinds of people They have made. We have a Savior whose language is always expressing truth and love in ways that we can all understand.

That is the story of Pentecost. The God who made us all so beautifully different was not afraid to vary language by the thousands, so that we could experience the miracle of learning to communicate with each other in new ways. That is why Black x Pasifika Solidarity is so important. It means learning our individual and shared histories. It also means recognizing that history involves long standing, collective and ongoing resistance.

Part of communicating across cultural differences is in celebrating with the culture, as well as recognizing that every people group has to make a journey to full dignity and equity. Learning about colorism in the Pasifika context. Anti-Blackness happens in the Pacific as much as other places in the world. Texturism, which refers to exclusion and hatred based upon hair type, is a factor of microaggressions and discrimination as well. Melanesians are thought to have migrated to Oceania from Africa during one of the first waves of human migration, about 50,000 years ago. What the Oceanic experience raises is an interesting prospect, which is that one can be “Black” without being of “recent” African descent.  Still, the passions and joy of Pasifika peoples cannot be erased! Let’s commit to learn more about Black x Pasifika solidarity and actively work towards a liberated Black x Gold future.

The Polynesian Panthers were a revolutionary social justice movement dedicated to stopping racial inequalities carried out against indigenous Māori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand.

Black and Melanesian consciousness might seem new to many non-Pasifika people but it is old hat to the generations who live it. During a panel discussion at the Sundance Film Festival 2021, entitled “Black Visuality and Solidarity in Oceania,” iTaukei scholar Dr. Ponipate Rokolekutu spoke: 

“When I talk about blackness, as an iTaukei and as a Melanesian, my notion of blackness is intertwined with my identity as an indigenous Fijian. And as an iTaukei, I come from the clan of the Mata ni Vanua . . . So when I think of blackness, It is not only former slaves through the trans-Atlantic slave trade or blackbirding, but someone who is also dispossessed of their lands. So my notion of blackness is complicated, because of the complexity of where I am situated as an indigenous Fijian and as a Melanesian.”

“It is perhaps because of all of these complex positionings and embodied relationships to Blackness that Melanesians and Australian Aboriginals were among the first to rise up when cries for Black Power echoed across the world in the late 1960s.Read more about Black and Melanesian Resistance.”

Learn more about this here

Meditation: “Ask the Brindled”

From her collection “How to Swallow a Colonizer,” No’u Revilla quotes a line from Haunani-Kay Trask, “Brindle your throat.”

1.  Brindle your throat.

     2.  Metabolize the twitching

          eyes, tongue, feet.

     3.  Hold your stomach

          with both hands while 

          his teeth dissolve and recite: 

          you will be undarkened,

          you will be undarkened.

         This acid, medicine.

     4.  Rub your piko. 

     5.  When the settler breaks down 

          stick your fingers in your mouth 

          to beckon flowers.

     6.  Kaulana nā pua.

“The definition of “brindled” means to be restrained—to control your tongue by choosing what you will speak and what you will not speak. Hawaiians have been subjected to colonization, and we are expected to be happy about it. We are supposed to swallow down colonization with a smile. Hawaiians are hushed, and the many voices and protests are ignored by America, all the way back to the 1800s, our nation has been silenced by the greed of colonizers.” from Antioch Voices

Sources

More on The Polynesian Panthers - Organizing New Zealand and Beyond

More on ANHPI peoples - 30 Revolutionaries to know

Colorism in Pasifika - Allure Article

Artist Profile Jasmine Togo Brisby - Black x Melanesian

Art by Afro Asian artists – Andrea Chung, Tao Leigh Goffe