“NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS FACED CAN BE CHANGED,
BUT NOTHING CAN BE CHANGED UNTIL IT IS FACED.”

– JAMES BALDWIN

The South Asian Solidarity Movement (SASM) is a volunteer-powered not-for-profit organization by a multigenerational team of justice-oriented South Asians working to advance inclusion, anti-oppression, and cross-racial solidarity in Chicago.

Through educational programs and community gatherings, we create opportunities to learn, unlearn, and practice anti-oppression together — encouraging us to decolonize our minds, challenge inherited systems of harm, and move toward collective liberation.

While rooted in the South Asian diaspora, our community is proudly multiethnic, multilingual, multiracial, and multicultural. You do not have to be South Asian to join us; we believe our struggles are interconnected and our liberation is bound together.

WHAT TO EXPECT

WHERE SOLIDARITY MEETS ACTION

Courageous dialogue. Collective reflection. Growth without fear.

⟡ COLLECTIVE LEARNING

Our collective learning spaces invite us to learn and unlearn together. Through conversation, reflection, and shared practice, we challenge our biases, expand our awareness, and build the skills and accountability needed to show up for one another and create a more just, inclusive world.

⟡ CROSS-RACIAL SOLIDARITY BUILDING

Chicago is one of the most racially segregated cities in the country. We intentionally create welcoming spaces where people across racial, ethnic, and social identities can gather, connect, and build meaningful relationships. Through shared experience and care, we honor difference, uplift lived stories, and cultivate the trust and solidarity that move us toward collective liberation.

⟡ SPACE FOR COURAGEOUS CONVERSION

We cultivate brave, caring spaces for honest conversations about the issues we’re often taught to avoid. Together, we create room for hard truths to be spoken, challenged, and transformed — without shame, harm, or fear of exposure. Grounded in care, dignity, and accountability, our gatherings invite people to engage courageously, reflect deeply, and grow in solidarity with one another.

⟡ CONNECTION & BELONGING

We create in-person spaces where people can gather, connect, and build meaningful relationships with others who share their values. Our events foster a sense of belonging and collective care, offering opportunities to learn together, reflect honestly, and grow in solidarity — because lasting change begins with genuine connection.

CO-CREATION & PARTERSHIP

We believe art, healing, and storytelling are essential to movement work. We invite artists, facilitators, and practitioners whose work aligns with our values to offer their gifts in solidarity with our community. Together, we co-create spaces for courageous dialogue, collective care, and meaningful action.

Explore Collaboration

OUR PILLARS

⟡ EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Our approach centers learning by doing. Through guided conversation, storytelling, reflection, and shared practice, we create opportunities to explore hard questions, unlearn harmful narratives, and deepen our anti-oppression lens — together, in community.

⟡ SELF REFLECTION

We believe solidarity requires inner work. Through reflection and facilitated dialogue, we examine the biases, privileges, and oppression-based wounds we carry, and practice greater accountability to ourselves and our communities. This work helps us disrupt the patterns that sustain division and build more just, connected relationships across difference.

⟡ SOLIDARITY BUILDING

We organize across lines of race, culture, and lived experience to challenge isolation and division. By cultivating relationships, accountability, and shared purpose, we transform connection into collective action and move toward liberation together.

OUR WHY

The South Asian Solidarity Movement was born from a simple truth: our communities deserve spaces to move beyond silence and into solidarity. While the South Asian diaspora continues to grow and evolve, many of us have not had places to collectively learn, unlearn, and reckon with the histories, biases, and internalized narratives that shape how we show up in the world. We believe transformation begins in community — through honest conversation, shared reflection, and a commitment to justice.

SASM creates those spaces. We bring South Asians together to deepen connection across language, religion, caste, and culture, while building the awareness and accountability needed to challenge oppression within and beyond our communities. In a deeply segregated city like Chicago, we also intentionally foster relationships across racial and social difference, cultivating cross-racial solidarity and collective action.

Our reason is rooted in this belief: when we gather with courage, care, and clarity, we can become more responsible to one another — and more committed to building a just, inclusive, and liberated future together.

CONNECT WITH OUR LEADERS

OUR EVENTS ARE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROSITY AND SUPPORT OF OUR SPONSORS

COMMUNITY VOICES:

A FEW REFLECTIONS FROM THE PEOPLE WHO CONTINUE TO SHAPE SASM

"SASM events open up a window for conversation and the interruption of "community as normal" that I've not seen happen in my life as an African-American. There are real fissures in the connective tissue of solidarity between Black and Asian communities, and the South Asian community in particular. These fissures do not happen by accident, they happen through maintenance and comfort. SASM starts with a practical reality (we are not connected), does the uncomfortable thing (brings us together), and provides space for the only honest thing (seeing the gaps in our solidarity and relationship, fills them with invitation and accountability, and heals them in collective experiences). As a Black man doing solidarity work for over 20 years while hardly seeing any large part of the Asian community doing this work from INSIDE the Asian community, it's heartening and healing for me to see and support SASM. It makes my life better as a Black American for SASM to exist. It makes my work easier as a practitioner of equity and equality for SASM exist. I've found new friends and better Asian allies inside their meetings than I find almost anywhere else."

— Xavier Ramey
"As a Muslim immigrant woman, these times have been more than just depressing—they’ve been isolating. SASM became the sanctuary where I could finally exhale. The meetings are sharp and deeply relevant, but more importantly, the facilitators cultivate an atmosphere where we can speak our truths without fear. I no longer feel like I’m navigating these challenges alone; I’ve reclaimed my agency and found my strength again within this community."

— Nazia Zakir
"As a seventy-five years old, Chicago activist, it is heartening to see and hear a rekindling of the community coalition as envisioned by Chairmen Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The questions of family loyalty, uplift, education, remembrance, identity and culture in a country that rewards behaviors unbecoming humanity; SASM is building a table where courageous and fraught conversations are encouraged. Now. More than ever.”

— Vernon Butler
"I've been going to SASM events almost since its inception and I'm deeply grateful for this inclusive space for learning, unlearning, and reflection. Growing up in Yonkers during school desegregation in the 1980s shaped how I understand equity and injustice. Living through 9/11 also deepened my awareness of how quickly fear can turn into bias toward marginalized communities. SASM provides a safe space to push me to examine my own assumptions and to show up as an ally—especially in solidarity with Black communities and others who have long carried the weight of systemic inequity."

– Arshia Akbari
"Attending SASM events always fills my cup! They provide a much needed sense of community in today’s world. The discussions cover so many important topics that are essential for South Asians to explore and unpack, helping us show up as better people in the world. Every time I attend, I meet incredible people and leave feeling truly full both mentally and emotionally. Highly recommended for anyone looking for connection, growth, and meaningful conversation!"

– Reeva Date
"Time flies. It seems like yesterday, but it has been four years since I first became aware of an array of multiethnic, multicultural, and mindful individuals that comprised the South Asian Solidarity Movement (SASM). The first event I attended, I was curious and wanted to connect, but skeptical of this group's seriousness of engaging anti-black racism, and sociopathic systems. Almost immediately, I was warmly welcomed as a family member. Every event I have participated in has been aspirational, enlightening and empowering, especially the January 2026 new year drumming for joy and justice. I look forward to participating in SASM future activities, and sharing insights toward helping humanity get along."

– Hunter Adams
"As a former elected official who yearned for partners to build solidarity across communities, I am grateful that SASM is here now. Over the last five years, SASM has grown and evolved to help us navigate difficult conversations and confront the nuances that keep our communities apart. I look forward to being a part of SASM’s journey to cultivate a just and accessible Chicago."

– Sharmin Shahjahan
"I have attended SASM events since its inception and you’ll be hard pressed to find a space for South Asians here in Chicago that is intentional about facilitating deep discussions and hosting diverse programming in support of cross racial solidarity work. If you’re looking for a community that values equity and building bridges across various racial, cultural, and social groups…I highly encourage you to check out the next SASM event."

– Cecil Thomas