Blak Orchid

Blak Orchid is a collaboration by Jomo and Suraj, of Southeast Asian Chinese and Muslim South Asian origins. We come together as Asian American activists who are working our asses off to build a pan-Asian movement right here, right now, in the USA and beyond. We believe that Asian peoples can come together on the basis of justice, democracy and anti-racism, living out in practice the principles of love and solidarity that are steeped deep into our traditions. The future of our peoples rests in the hands of everyday Asians, those of us that are always at the forefront of our struggles for freedom. Behind us, trail behind the reluctant elites, like dead weights waiting to be cast off in the name of our self-government. We look to the revolutionary liberation movements, from Black Power in the 1960s, to the Intifada of Palestine, the liberation theologies from the insurgent Christians of the Phillipines to Ali Shariati's Islamic revival, and the anti-colonial and working-class struggles all rolled into one in South Korea. We draw from their strengths and learn from their mistakes. These movements are our predecessors and we value them for their creative expressions of day-to-day impulses for liberation that keep minds seeking and hearts churning. We have hopes that our generation will rise to Fanon's challenge, to first find our mission, and then fulfill it. Here in Seattle, where we now venture into, via Detroit, Providence, Malaysia, Bihar and all the places our hearts and minds have treaded upon, we present you with our sweaty reflections of everyday life.