Asian hate crimes have increased by 150% in the past year, according to the analysis released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. from March 2020 to February 2021, the Stop AAPI (Asian American/Pacific Islander) Hate received nearly 3,800 reports of hate incidents against the AAPI community, mostly Asian-American women, a number which they indicated represents “only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur.” NYPD data indicates an increase of at least 1,900 percent in anti-Asian hate crime incidents between 2019 and 2020.
The Asian Community has also been impacted by their businesses and restaurants being boycotted during the Covid-19 pandemic. around the globe, plus the uptick in violent hate crimes against the Asian community. These racist fears were further stoked in the U.S. by the former president and his followers’ continued use of racist epithets to describe the virus.
With the March 16th news of a white man who went on a shooting spree through three massage parlors in the Atlanta area, killing 8 people (6 being Asian women), it has illuminated how much of violence that the Asian community (particularly Asian Women/Working-Class Immigrant Asian Women) face.
Our Asian Brothers and Sisters need us! Here are ways in which we can support:
1. Support Asian Owned Restaurants + Shops:
Things are financially challenging for a lot of us during this pandemic, but if you are able to order takeout or delivery – make an effort to support Asian owned restaurants. Although a lot of businesses have had hardships due to Covid, but AAPI owned businesses are suffering also due racist-led boycotts.
2.Take A Bystander Intervention Course.
Hollaback! is an anti-harassment organization, who has partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice to provide free bystander intervention training- arming you with proper knowledge of what to do if you witness anti-Asian harassment.
3. Educate Yourself
While the alarming rise in anti-Asian hate crimes has been largely driven by racist sentiments surrounding the coronavirus in the last year, anti-Asian racism and xenophobia are not new phenomena. It’s crucial that we understand how that racism has played out in the U.S. in the past—throughout political policies and social behaviors—so we can move forward in more thoroughly addressing and eradicating this racism. Some educational resources:
“What This Wave of Anti-Asian Violence Reveals About America” (READ)
Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White (READ)
The Making of Asian America: A History (READ)
“Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories” podcast (LISTEN)
Asian Americans PBS docuseries (WATCH)
“Asian American Stories in the Time of Coronavirus” YouTube docuseries (WATCH)
2. Donate To Asian American Organizations:
The Stop AAPI Hate gathers hate crime reports against the Asian community throughout the U.S., gives support to victims of these crimes, and generates reports on these incidents that help advocate for social and political protections for the community.
Donate to Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice advocates for Asian Americans’ civil rights and empowers the community through education, litigation, and public policy advocacy. (Atlanta Chapter)
Donate to the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum focuses on effecting political and social change for AAPI women, working specifically within the framework of reproductive justice.
Donate to AAPI Women Lead
Through the #ImReady Movement, AAPI Women Lead works alongside other BIPOC communities to empower AAPI women to become leaders in politics, business, technology, and education, fighting back against the discrimination and violence that are all too common to AAPI women.
Donate to Womankind
Womankind focuses on Asian immigrant women experiencing domestic violence, providing resources and information to help them “rise above trauma and build a path to healing.”
Donate to Red Canary Song
Red Canary Song is a grassroots coalition of Asian and migrant sex workers that fights for justice and police accountability in cases of violence against sex workers.
Donate to the Asian American Advocacy Fund
The Asian American Advocacy Fund is a Georgia-based nonprofit advocating for the AAPI community in the state. “Our vision is a Georgia where Asian Americans’, Pacific Islanders’, and Native Hawaiians’ voices are represented in elected leadership and progressive policies across the state.
Donate to the Asian Mental Health Collective
The Asian Mental Health Collective seeks to break down cultural barriers to destigmatize mental health support within the global Asian community. “It is apparent that there is a generational and cultural rift in many Asian families, with mental health woven through both overt confrontations and unspoken grievances as a result. AMHC hopes to help bridge those divides.”
Donate to the AAPI Community Fund
GoFundMe has compiled a comprehensive list of verified donation pages on its platform to support victims of anti-Asian hate crimes, provide safety resources to the AAPI community, and advance research into the increased violence. The site has also launched the AAPI Community Fund, which will provide grants to AAPI advocacy organizations across the country.
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Thanks to MarieClaire.Com + Andrea Park for the info.
