(Special thanks to Dawn Xiana Moon of Raks Geek for bringing this to our attention)
In the wake of COVID-19, there has been a significant increase in racist and xenophobic attacks on Asian-Americans. In March, a Chinese-American man was attacked in Naperville, and their city council meeting highlighted further racist attitudes. In an effort to counter these efforts, Raks Inferno (a project of Raks Geek) is holding a streaming Facebook circus/cabaret performance on Friday, May 15th at 8:00 pm CST.
Featuring a cast of Asian-American performers from around the country, Raks Inferno: I Am Not a Virus hopes to raise funds and awareness for Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an organization that “builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity”.
Performers for this Friday’s event include
- Dawn Xiana Moon, Bellydance & Fire-spinning
- Tyler Jacobson, Hand-Balancing & Contortion
- Midnight Martini, Aerial Silks
- Lee Na-Moo, Bellydance
- Radia Ali, Fire-spinning, and
- Jin Kim, emcee
Many arts-based organizations and nonprofits are turning to live streaming their events in order to maintain their presence and engage their audience. In the midst of a public health crisis, it is easy to forget that we are all connected as a community. We encourage you to check out Raks Inferno: I Am Not A Virus on May 15th at 8:00 pm via Facebook…but more importantly, we ask that, if you can, please donate to Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
It’s easy to forget that COVID-19 affects a large number of people and has a devastating impact on many communities. We encourage you to support a local organization working to alleviate a harsher impact on a major Chicago community.
Hope you can attend!
(Please note that we welcome comments here and on our Facebook page, but comments will be moderated. Thanks for reading!)
Filed under:
Community, Meet Your Neighbor, Neighborhoods, Organizations, Politics
Tags:
arts, chicago, community, events, nonprofits, social change