What is Bruce Lee’s Authentic Self-Expression and What Could It Offer Intergroup Solidarity?

“To me ultimately martial art means honestly expressing yourself. Now it is very difficult to do…. I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that, my friend, is very hard to do.” --Bruce Lee Is the ability to express oneself honestly, authentically, without being fake or fancy or lying to oneself important for building solidarity with others, especially solidarity across social differences? If so, then how have Blacks and Asians engaged in solidarity, when they are often imagined to have so little in common? And, do you agree with Bruce Lee: Is expressing oneself honestly/authentically very hard to do? If so, why? Through historical and recent examples of Afro-Asian solidarity, this workshop explores how solidarity across social differences involves honest self-expression. It means cultivating a “you” who is not easily distracted by pressures to go along with inequities. Those pressures could be personal, inter-personal, ideological, institutional, organizational, etc. Bruce Lee operated on all these levels but was particularly good at cultivating and inspiring self-expression and solidarity at the personal and interpersonal levels, even for people who never met him. Let’s sit around and have some serious dialogue about Bruce Lee’s notion of honest/authentic self-expression and intergroup solidarity!