Since the summer of 2020 anti-racism has become a new battle cry in the fight for racial justice and re-energized the movement. Asian communities are in crisis and need some of that same energy now.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Asians have been and continue to be targeted with increasing violence at alarming rates, reinforcing their existence as perpetual foreigners who do not truly belong here, whether born here or not. The history of anti-Asian racism is long in the United States; this is the latest chapter of America not wanting them here.
The U.S. reluctantly tolerated Chinese immigrants in the mid-1860s for backbreaking dangerous railroad work that white workers would not do in order to connect the U.S. with the Transcontinental Railroad. Soon afterward, the danger of Yellow Peril became a concern and in 1882, the first American stance on anti-immigration would be the catalyst for future immigration policies, better known as the Chinese Exclusion Act. In February 1942, the U.S. rounded up and interned Japanese Americans and Asian Americans of non-Japanese descent after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The model minority myth has been, and continues to be, used as a racial wedge to further policies against Black communities (and other nonwhite groups). But has there been progress? Well there’s a whole heritage month for Asians in May. Now think back to how many non-Asians posted about it on their social media as they do for Pride, Black History, or Hispanic Heritage months. AAPI Awareness Month did not even become official until 1992.
In 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic made navigating public spaces dangerous for Asians. The prior administration’s insistence to call it the China/Chinese virus only helped to incite anti-Asian attacks to startling numbers. In April, NBC News reported over 30 percent of Americans have witnessed COVID-19 bias against Asians. Even more problematic is that attackers are not easily recognizable, they are not a “type” and have no specific race, identity, or group, which makes the situation even more disturbing since an attacker could be anyone.
Indeed, Asian Americans are fair game for everyone as evidenced by Jose Gomez‘s confession in his attempt to murder an Asian American family including a two-year-old child in Midland, Texas. Let that sink in — a two-year-old child, simply because they are Asian. Phased re-openings show an increase in these attacks as some view Asians as the cause of the virus, or even as a virus themselves.
Even medical professionals on the front lines saving lives regardless of patient race or identity are in danger because they are Asian. In January of this year an 84-year-old Thai man was pushed to his death in San Francisco. The elderly are especially vulnerable to recent attacks and Asian businesses are being violently vandalized across the country.
An early response to this current wave of anti-Asian racism came from highly visible Asian leader and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who advised Asian Americans in a Washington Post op-ed to “show our American-ness in ways we never have before,” by helping the country in its time of need. The implication of Yang’s response is for Asian Americans to continue the perpetuation of the model minority myth, the danger of which extols the virtue to suffer in silence. Do not make waves; keep your head down. A more recent response came from President Joe Biden, in the form on an executive order he signed days after his inauguration in an attempt to address the situation with directives to federal agencies.
What Asian Americans (and Asians globally) do need to fight against anti-Asian racism is active allyship from non-Asians. To start with, when Asians (or Black, Indigenous, or persons of color — BIPOC) express experiences of racism, whether witnessed or not, do not dismiss their concerns. BIPOC folks survive racism on a continuous basis and to not believe their lived experiences and fears is a flagrant flaunting of privilege. Asians need non-Asian folks to check in, speak out, stand up, and advocate for them through whatever platforms they have and use. Support of #StopAsianHate does not diminish anti-racism support of Black communities and other marginalized groups.
Mary Robinson is the assistant director of international programs at Rollins College.
