People came out Sunday in San Francisco for what organizers called the first "Asian and Black Community (ABC) Cookout."
Katina Johnson ended up sitting with people she met.
“I would say one of the things that’s important in both of our cultures, in all of our cultures is sharing a meal. This week has been a week about, to some extent. about having family together. Coming to the cookout is important,” she said.
The event was led by the groups “Asians are Strong” and “Both Sides of the Conversation.”
“We are proud in solidarity to work community part of the solidarity that Asian Stop Hate, we want to bring both our communities together in a day of fun, food, football,” said Jon Henry with Both Sides of the Conversation.
Organizers said they wanted to celebrate the similarities between Black and Asian communities during what they described as "times of friction and division."
“The goal is to show how to really talk about how to build community," said Hudson Liao with Asians are Strong. "A lot of people talk about solidarity and unity online, on social media. But community is more than social media. You have to come out, break bread with someone, have a conversation with someone and really get to know people."
They figured that one way to do that is through food, and celebrating similarities and understanding shared challenges.
“That’s what we’re trying to foster. Real relationships, real connections over the universal language of love, which is food. Every culture loves food. There is no bad food, there is no good food,” Liao said.
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Katie Quan, an educator, invited people to test their knowledge during the event.
“A lot of it aims to start a conversation on how Asian and Black communities have worked together in the past. All the way from the 1800s to present,” she said.
