Shino Tanikawa, 58, has become an impassioned advocate for school desegregation, committed to battling anti-Blackness in society. So a recent and growing narrative that many of the attacks against Asian-Americans are coming from Black assailants has deeply disturbed her.

"It breaks my heart," said Tanikawa. "It really does, because as Black-indigenous-people of color, as a community in this country, we can’t be fighting against each other. If we don't fight the white supremacist structure, there's just no way we're going to make it."

One of the central challenges for communities of color is whether they can actually align, in the face of white nationalism. It isn’t just a matter of symbolism, but is playing out in intense, and incredibly fraught policy debates over education and public safety.