On the morning of May 29, 2020, Ruhel Islam learned that his family’s Gandhi Mahal Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been burned to the ground. Following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by police officers, protestors had set the nearby police headquarters ablaze, and the fire had engulfed the restaurant.

Born in Bangladesh, Ruhel had immigrated to the United States in 1996 due to the hostile political climate in his home country. The restaurant was his family’s main source of income. Yet Ruhel empathized with the anger of Minneapolis residents. His daughter, Hafsa, posted his response to the incident on Facebook, where it was shared by over 30,000 people:

Three days later in Washington, DC, the police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray on protestors. Rahul Dubey, a South Asian American community member, sheltered seventy-two demonstrators in his house overnight, helping them avoid arrest. “People were coughing, crying, strangers pouring milk into strangers’ eyes,” Dubey said. “It was this real camaraderie.” ² The actions of Ruhel Islam and Rahul Dubey represent just two examples in a long history of solidarity between South Asians and Black communities in the United States.

This module explores the shared political movements and community ties that have connected South Asian Americans with other people of color in the United States. By allying themselves with other groups that have faced discrimination, South Asian Americans have played an important and often overlooked role in the collective struggle for justice and equality in the United States.