Key Takeaways

• There are about 125 reported incidents of physical attacks on Asian-Americans in the US in April 2020. In March 2021, six Asian women were shot in Atlanta. This heightened the call "to end anti-Asian racism and acts of violence" in the US.
• Some US local and state governments "have set up hotlines and directed authorities to investigate cases of attacks or discrimination" against Asian-Americans.
• Another solution to combatting Asian-American racism is the release of public statements from government officials that counter or condemn Asian racism.

Introduction

Asian-American Racism Surrounding Public Safety

• There are about 125 reported incidents of physical attacks on Asian-Americans in the US in April 2020. This is based on the gathered reports by STOP AAPI HATE, a reporting center created by a coalition of Asian-American groups. These physical attacks constitute the Asian-American racism surrounding public safety.
• The reporting center received about 1,500 reports about racism, discrimination, hate speech, and physical attacks against Asian-Americans. There were also "hundreds of cases in which Asian-Americans were harassed in public or barred from businesses or transportation, yelled at in supermarkets, accused of 'bringing coronavirus' to the US, or refused transport in car services like Uber or Lyft."
• One Asian-American reported, "A truck drove by and threw a [fast food franchise] drink on my back and yelled 'Hey chink, you're fucking nasty.'"
• Another Asian-American who was waiting for a bus reported that a man started scolding him. The Asian-American said, "I ignored him [then] an object of substantial weight was thrown at me with high velocity – missing me but impacting the side of the bus with a sickening 'thwack.' Instantly, I sobered to an awareness in the amount of trauma the object would have caused if it had struck my head."
• These incidents have been on the rise due to the global pandemic which started in China. Another incident happened on May 3, 2020. Someone shouted at an Asian on the New York subway, "You're infected China boy, you need to get off the train," and then tried to pull the Asian out of his seat.
• From March 2020 to May 2020 alone, countless publicly reported incidents of "violent physical attacks on Asian Americans" such as in New York, California, Texas, and Minnesota had been reported.
• In March 2021, six Asian women were shot in Atlanta. This heightened the call "to end anti-Asian racism and acts of violence" in the US. Some solutions to combat Asian-American racism are outlined below.

Local Governments Set Up a Hotline

• Some US local and state governments "have set up hotlines and directed authorities to investigate cases of attacks or discrimination" against Asian-Americans. Through these hotlines, anyone can report an incident of Asian racism and harassment to the authorities.
• This step has also been implemented in British Columbia in May 2021. The launch of an anti-racism incidents multilingual hotline has been considered a positive step in combatting the rising racism against Asians since the onset of the pandemic. British Columbia reports that "it will use data collected from the hotline to support future anti-racism initiatives, including legislation aimed to pave the way for race-based data collection that could inform future anti-racism efforts."
• According to British Columbia Attorney General David Eby, "This hotline will lower the barrier for reporting incidents, helping us better direct further action and be more rapid in our responses."

Public Statements (Countering Racism) from Government Officials

• Another solution to combatting Asian-American racism is the release of public statements from government officials that counter or condemn Asian racism.
• According to John Sifton, Asia advocacy director, "Racism and physical attacks on Asians and people of Asian descent have spread with the Covid-19 pandemic, and government leaders need to act decisively to address the trend. Governments should act to expand public outreach, promote tolerance, and counter hate speech while aggressively investigating and prosecuting hate crimes."
• Sifton added, "Repeatedly and publicly condemning racism is an important part of any government's response to the coronavirus. Governments also need to adopt special public education initiatives, strengthen policing of hate crimes, and offer support to communities victimized by discrimination and racially motivated attacks."
• This solution has been proven effective in Australia. In April 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia criticized Covid-19-related racist attacks and told Australians to "stop it."
• Aside from Australia's prime minister, "the acting minister for immigration and multicultural affairs also strongly condemned the rise in racist attacks." In addition, a Labor parliament member of Australia, Andrew Giles, including "other opposition leaders have called for the government to restart a national anti-racism campaign."

Initiatives of Non-Government Organizations

• Another solution would be community support for the initiatives of non-government organizations. For example, "advocacy groups like Asian Americans Advancing Justice offer bystander intervention training, which can be done virtually."
• In March 2021, "GoFundMe.org created the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) Community Fund to support tax-deductible donations toward grassroots organizations that aim to empower and protect the AAPI community, with initiatives such as increased community safety and support for those affected by violence."

Research Strategy