Every May, Google celebrates the contributions made by Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. However, over the past year, “Asian hate crimes” have increased around the world, and “Asian hate crimes” have become the most searched type of hate crime in the USA. In the past year, during the pandemic, there has been a troubling increase in the reports of violence against the Asian community. There are many reports of violence against Asian seniors.
One of the major reasons for the increase in violence against Asians is when everyone found out about the COVID-19 virus and its origination is in Wuhan, China. Ever since then, the hate against Asians in the USA has been steadily rising. According to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, there has been an increase of 150 percent in hate crimes against Asians in the US in 2020. These hate crimes are not only on people of Asian origin but also businesses that are run by them. The study by the Center found that Asians living in Los Angeles and New York have been the most targeted. Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders notes more than 3,800 reports of anti-Asian racist attacks since March 2020.
Speaking to CNN, President and Executive Director of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice, John C. Yang, said that, “unfortunately, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often are invisible to the public. Or, where we are visible, it falls into a couple of different stereotypes. One stereotype is the so-called ‘model minority’ — the suggestion that there are no issues that really affect the Asian American community.”
People from all different industries, as well as everyday citizens, have been calling to end discriminatory hate crimes. People have been speaking out against the crimes committed targeting the Asian community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The #StopAsianHate hashtag has been trending on social media with people sharing their own experiences of racism or calling out others and speaking up, and others are speaking and standing up for the community. Even celebrities have posted on this topic.
You can find a lot of information on Ellentube as well.
On the 19th of March, 2021, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, had made a statement urging Congress to “swiftly pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which would expedite the federal government’s response to the rise of hate crimes exacerbated during the pandemic, support state, and local governments to improve hate crimes reporting, and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to Asian American communities.” In his statement, President Biden also acknowledged that “too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying, waking up each morning the past year feeling their safety and the safety of their loved ones are at stake. They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated, and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed.” On the 21st of May, 2021, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.
Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, who is also the first Asian American, African American, and woman to become the vice-president, said, “racism is real in America. And it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism, too.”
This violence is not only limited to the United States of America. Speaking to the Observer, Marvel film star Gemma Chan spoke about how she is worried about her family living in the United Kingdom as there has been a surge in crimes against Asians living there. She is trying to help raise awareness for a national #StopAsianHate campaign. She said that she was “deeply concerned and disturbed” to see the surge in the number of atrocities committed against Asian people in London. Chan said, “Like many others, I worry for family members every time they leave the house or use public transport.”
People are searching for ways to help and support the Asian community. You can do the following:
(These suggestions have been taken from Oprah Daily)
Report hate incidents to Stop AAPI Hate.
Read AAPI news on @NextShark, @ResonateVoices, and @DionLimTV.
Post this #StopAsianHate and How to Be an Ally graphic.
(These suggestions have been taken from Harper’s Bazaar)
Encourage those who experience or witness acts of hate towards the AAPI community to www.StopAAPIHate.org, which is available in 11 different languages.
Share resources with your friends and family on what to do if you encounter or witness hate.
Be informed about what is happening and why.
Be civically engaged in your local community and ask your elected official what they are doing to address racism.
Donate to www.StopAAPIHate.org and a network of organizations dedicated to addressing anti-Asian racism at the local level. Movement Hub, a platform and database for on-the-ground AAPI organizations across the country, is a great resource to find groups to amplify in the community.
(These suggestions have been taken from Prestige)
Report incidents of hate against Asians in America, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at Stop AAPI Hate.
Or donate to: Stop AAPI Hate; GoFundMe page for Support the AAPI Community Fund; Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF); CommUNITY Action Fund set up by Hate Is a Virus; Asian Mental Health Collective; Heart of Dinner (it delivers lunches and fresh produce to elderly Asian American community in New York City); Send Chinatown Love; Save Our Chinatowns; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; End the Virus of Racism; besea.n (Britain’s East and South East Asian Network)
You can volunteer at Compassion in Oakland or attend the Bystander Intervention’s Stop Anti-Asian/American Harassment And Xenophobia Workshop
Harsh Mahaseth is an Assistant Lecturer at Jindal Global Law School, and a Research Analyst at the Nehginpao Kipgen Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. He is currently a Fellow at Kathmandu Tribune.
