Memorial for Yang Song

On the evening of November 25, 2017, a migrant sex worker named Yang Song was killed in Flushing, Queens after police raided her place of work. After meeting her mother and younger brother, who came to NYC, seeking answers about Yang’s death, I asked for help from CAAAV, the Asian American Feminist Collective, Chinatown Youth Initiatives, Queens Neighborhoods United, MinKwon, and other APA community organizations where I had volunteered over the past decade, to come together to honor the life of Yang Song in a vigil planned with my friend and fellow Bluestockings feminist cooperative bookstore volunteer, Red Schulte.

This led to the co-founding of Red Canary Song, a collective of migrant massage parlor workers and Asian sex workers, providing mutual aid and advocating for legislation to protect the rights of immigrant massage parlor workers, sex workers, and all women working perilously in informal sectors.

On December 1, 2019, we planned a second vigil with a growing coalition of community organizations across New York State and Toronto, Canada. In attendance was Flushing Assemblymember Ron Kim and New York State Senators John Liu and Jessica Ramos, Chair of the NY State Senate Labor Committee. To show solidarity with the handwork of immigrant massage parlor workers, I asked these elected officials and hundreds of attendees of the second vigil to make handprints in Chinese brush ink on red papers lining the walls of the building near the Long Island Railroad station where Yang Song had worked as a sex worker.

Below are some photos taken by my mentor and childhood teacher, Corky Lee.

Vigil photo taken by Corky Lee

Hand Work

The red canary bird hand prints on our community wall symbolize the handcraft of massage work and sex work. The stain of the ink, which is difficult to remove, also symbolizes the stain of stigma, which makes it harder for women to move on from this industry to other lines of work. It symbolizes the stain of the city, on the conscience of the NYPD, Queens politicians, and the anti-women laws of the state, which will never be clean until there is justice for Yang Song, and labor rights for all sex workers.

Red Bird Handprint Handprint of Senator Ramos

Hand print of Jessica Ramos, Chair of the NY State Senate Labor Committee.

Painting Hands Painting the hands of vigil attendees

Painting the hands of vigil attendees with Chinese calligraphy ink. I had fun painting the hands of politicians. No one's hands are clean.

Community Wall Matteo, community organizer from Make the Road NY

Matteo Guerrero, community organizer from Make the Road NY, who spoke at the vigil on behalf of their organization, in solidarity between Latin American and Asian immigrant workers.

Community Messages Senator Ramos reading messages from community organizations across NY State in solidarity with Yang Song and all migrant massage parlor workers

Senator Jessica Ramos, reading messages from community organizations and leaders across NY State, honoring Yang Song and the lives of all migrant sex workers, translated into Chinese and English -- for women workers of Flushing to view with love and pride.

Sex Work is Work Chair of the NY State Labor Committee, speaking at the vigil: sex work is work.

The Chair of the NY State Labor Committee, speaking at our vigil: "Sex Work is Work". With Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim standing in the background.

Survival with Dignity Community activist with sign: Let Us Survive

Community activist with sign: Let Us Survive.
Solidarity with Massage Workers