NYC-Feature Story-World Trade Center

NYC-2001-09-08b
Winnie describes how some of her friends reacted in a negative way to a friend's murder, blaming all Black people for what one person did.

Our Rage Turned into Racism

By Winnie Tang

My friends responded to Victor's death with feelings of sadness, anger and fear. And these feelings caused them to act in different ways.

One immediate response was rage, which, for some, took a racist form. Like us, Victor was Chinese. His killer was Black. After we heard about Victor's death, some of my friends revealed their long-suppressed racism, making negative comments about Black people.

Ongoing Racial Tensions

We all had some Black friends, but most of us had also experienced some form of racism from Black people as well.

Before and after school, different groups of people-most segregated by race-hang out on different corners between the school and the train station. One corner it's the Asian seniors, another it's the Asian juniors, a third belongs to the Black seniors and so forth. When we passed by one of the Black corners after school, some of them would push us around a little, call us names or mock the way we talked.

My friends and I reacted to their disrespect by sometimes saying bad things about them. We called Black people grimy and ghetto, but only when we were with each other. We were too chicken to say it to anyone's face. I think that racism is bad but it was the only way I knew how to deal with Victor's death and the comments at the time.

Race-Based Fight Avoided

After Victor's death, the bad feelings between Black and Chinese students almost escalated into an organized fight. Fortunately, someone from each side talked to each other and decided that the fight was dumb, and so it was squashed. I don't think that any racist feelings got erased, but at least everyone was intelligent enough to decide that the fight wasn't worth it.

Some of my friends managed to keep their anger directed where it should be: Victor's killer. Victor's neighbors and friends started a petition to get the murderer a life sentence without parole. A friend of mine brought the petition to school, and many students, Asian and not, signed it.

It turned out that Victor's killer, 18, had used a gun before, and we all thought that such a violent person should not be allowed out, even on parole, for fear that he'd kill again.

Protecting Each Other

Because Victor was killed in a random robbery, my friends were also afraid it could happen to them.

So people living in Alex's neighborhood started taking safety precautions, like going to the park as a group instead of by themselves. And they'd walk each other home. "We gotta watch out for each other," said Alex. "We're like family… I don't wanna lose one of us again."

"Think About It":
Prompts for discussion and/or writing:

—Some of Winnie's friends blamed all Black people for Victor's death. Is it fair to blame an entire group for the actions of one individual? Why or why not?

—Have you ever been in a similar situation or had similar feelings, where you blamed a whole group of people for what one person did? Do you still have those feelings? Why or why not?

Roleplay: two students, playing Winnie and a friend. The friend blames all Black people for Victor's death. Winnie wants her friend to know why that is the wrong attitude to take.