Stop Asian Hate, but Don’t Stop There.
By: Jianna Cousin
The Asian-American community is in an urgent state of crisis; racially motivated violent attacks have increased over the last year.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an uptick in harassment and violent assaults against the Asian community. This stems from the belief Asian countries overseas are somehow responsible for the COVID-19 spread in the United States. Fear and racially charged misinformation spread through communities over the last year leading to a bias towards innocent Asian citizens.
President Biden has recently verbalized support for the Asian-American communities of the United States. Some of these statements came following a mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. In comparison, former President Trump has received criticism for racist epithets and descriptions he used when speaking about the virus.
Despite the differing stances of the previous and current presidents, organizers of Asian descent have remained vigilant and involved in their fight for liberation. The unprecedented times have increased the sense of urgency and solidarity within grassroots organizations and nonprofits nationwide.
According to the Stop AAPI Hate national report, there have been roughly 3,795 discriminatory incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data classifies verbal harassment, physical assault, civil rights violations and online harassment as discriminatory incidents. The nonprofit also notes in the report that these numbers are significantly higher than in previous years.
Misogyny is another bias that displays itself within these occurrences of anti-Asian racism. To date, women have reported twice as many anti-Asian hate incidents as men. This staggering statistic has unveiled the often unspoken or ignored reality of Asian women. Although the harassment did not begin at the start of the pandemic, the racial tension has likely provided many with, what they feel, is more reasoning to attack Asian-American women. Organizers nationwide seek to end this abusive pattern and amplify the voices of Asian-American women.
One of the many young advocates dedicated to this cause is Shania Tran, a Wichita, Kansas community servant dedicated to ending food insecurity with mutual aid through her work with the ICT Community Fridge Project.
Shania Tran is of both Vietnamese and Chinese descent, born and raised in her city of Wichita, Kansas. As she grew into adulthood, Shania found herself becoming more involved in movements of her community.
Although speaking up on the violence endured by her community can be heartbreaking, Tran also described the work as empowering and inspiring. The research distributed by Stop AAPI Hate said that 42.2 percent of reported incidents were towards Chinese-Americans. In response to the immense tragedy affecting her community, Tran said, “Enough is enough.”
Tran expressed worry for her community, specifically women. The cultural diversity of the Asian community and the patriarchal violence endured by Asian women show that these issues should be discussed through an intersectional lens.
Tran said, “Society, whether consciously, or subconsciously, sees Asian women as dehumanized, submissive servants and tends to oversee the hypersexualization of Asian women. This has led to the violence we face.” Tran’s answers emphasize that this is a time-sensitive matter.
When asked to elaborate on if enough is being done to raise awareness, Tran explained, “We have been encouraged to advocate and repost across our social media, but I fear there isn’t enough active engagement or discussion with it, locally within our community and through peers. And whether that’s because we don’t know where to start, because of the stigma behind the model minority myth, or because we’re still struggling to process the news, I think having these discussions, no matter how painful or uncomfortable, encourages room for growth.”
Her sister, Samantha Tran, a professional healthcare student of Denver, Colorado, shared her sentiments. Samantha said that the visibility brought to the situation has been amazing, but tangible action must come next. Sharing resources and advocating for change is an important next step.
An often-overlooked section of advocacy is empathy. Over the past several months, blogs, social media influencers and politicians have encouraged allies to check on their friends of color. However, Samantha said for her personally, the reciprocation of friends checking in has fallen short.
When tragedy hits communities, stress and fear often follow. This can be especially draining and traumatizing for those who work in advocacy. Samantha said “It just feels exhausting. Why does simply asking for equality and equity as BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) lead to us being denied something so essential and fundamental?”
Broadening the conversation of Anti-Asian violence is a requirement to identify and solve the root problems that lead to these racist attacks. Part of this can be done through legislation, the other portion must come from community education and solidarity.
It is important to note both on and offline, progress has already been made in a variety of ways.
President Biden has spoken out to condemn the recent anti-Asian attacks and signed a memorandum that will broaden the focus from hate crimes to include hate incidents as well.
Asian and Pacific Islander-led organizations have increased organizing efforts and data collection amidst the pandemic as well. Andrew Mai, an executive assistant at Power of Two, a non-profit organization based in Brownsville, Brooklyn and the South Bronx, said, “COVID really isn’t helping because it’s limiting everyone’s interaction to mainly online (and there’s nothing wrong with internet activism), but it warps the worlds’ perspective that Asian-Americans have only ever organized online. That’s simply not true.”
Despite being a season of sadness, this is simultaneously a time of pride for many citizens of Asian descent. Sarah Myose, URGE (Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity) Kansas state organizer, applauds their community and said “We are moving towards being more progressive. We are turning to learn more about solidarity with other communities.” They said this is a great thing.
“Our community can now begin to have the harder conversations,” Sarah said. “I’m hoping in the future that our communities recognize that we have such deep history and stories that we can be telling to the next generation. That needs to be cherished.”
The progress being shown between cultural communities is promising. Although there is still work to be done, many things have been accomplished and advocated for.
Mai said, “The fact that the children of immigrants/refugees are now growing up and creating their own Vietnamese movements, building coalitions, it’s amazing to see. It really is history in the making.”
It is clear that these recent acts of terror have been undeniably traumatizing to Asian-Americans still navigating a pandemic. Remaining steadfast, community members continue to do their due diligence to fight for equality and peace.
Jianna Cousin, 20, is a junior of Clark Atlanta University. She is a freelance photographer and grassroots organizer with a passion for human rights. Jianna hopes her passion for equality translates within her writing. Thank you for reading!
