Embodying Antiracist Christianity: An Asian/American Feminist Theological Proposal

In his classic The Souls of Black Folk, first published in 1903, W.E.B. DuBois asked, "How does it feel to be a problem?" In 2020, As the COVID-19 pandemic swept North America as well as other parts of the world, Americans of East Asian descent struggled with the same question: How does it feel to be a problem, Asian America? A more accurate question would be: How does it feel to be a problem again and again, Asian America? The uptick of anti-Asian hate during the COVID pandemic is a perfect example of problematizing Asians' right to life. In a critical response to anti-Asian hatred, this panel of Asian American feminist theologians in critical Christian studies analyzes what has problematized us. The panel also searches for how we can dismantle anti-Asian racism, co-constitutive with anti-Black racism, xenophobia, settler colonialism, and so forth. Through Asian American theological reflection and actions, namely praxis, the panelists showcase how Asian American communities reclaim their livelihood, interdependent on the well-being of all "problematized" groups.