Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
You are not alone. We are here to help you if you experience verbal or physical assault, hate crimes or racial discrimination due to coronavirus (Covid-19) misconceptions or xenophobia, defined as prejudice against people from other countries.
This, in effect, was the message of coalitions of Asian American advocacy organizations nationwide. In the nation’s capital, the coalition is providing a lawyers’ committee hotline or a 24-hour telephone number, 1-844-9-NO-HATE or 1-844-9-66-4283. The hotline is accessible in several Asian languages.
Advancing Justice/AAJC (Asian American Justice Center) President and Executive Director John C. Yang said, “We urge allies to take action by reiterating the correct information on the virus, holding bystander intervention trainings, and by reporting hate incidents to StandAgainstHatred.org. Together, we must combat xenophobia.”
StandAgainstHatred.org is accessible in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Advancing Justice/AAJC, based in the nation’s capital, is a member of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of some 30 organizations.
In California, a coalition has also launched a reporting and monitoring website, as well as other support systems for Asian Americans to address the growing xenophobia throughout the country. State officials have also joined in a partnership with the Asian American coalition in California to address the issue.
The reporting and monitoring website, www.a3pcon.org/stopaapihate, was launched by the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and San Francisco Asian American Studies Department “to collect and track incidents of anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate violence, adult harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying in California and throughout the country.”
Cynthia Choi, the Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, said: “First and foremost, we want community members to know they are not alone. They can speak out and help stop the spread of bigotry. Secondly, the collected data will allow us to assess the extent and magnitude of these incidents and to develop strategic interventions.”
The California coalition will work with public, private and also community based organizations (CBOs) “to develop targeted education and media campaigns, to provide resources for impacted individuals and to advocate for policies and programs dedicated to curtailing racial profiling.”
Lawyers’ Hotline
In the nation’s capital, Advancing Justice/AAJC suggested the targets of hate crimes report the crime to the police or file a complaint, and to report and file a complaint with the appropriate government agencies for discrimination in the workplace. Advancing Justice/AAJC has affiliate organizations across the country.
Marita Etcubanez, Director of Strategic Initiatives, also urged them to contact the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its Stop Hate hotline number, which is accessible in a number of Asian languages. The hotline number: 1-844-9-NO-HATE or 1-844-9-66-4283. For more information, visit its website at www.8449nohate.org
Director Etcubanez also suggested seeking assistance from trusted community-based organizations (CBOs). “CBOs may be able to help mobilize a broader community response,” she said. She listed a range of actions available to Asian Americans who encounter discrimination and hate crimes. (Please scroll down to read this list.)
Trump: ‘Important to ‘totally protect’ Asian Americans
On March 23, a firm and clear statement from President Trump which stressed that it is “very important to totally protect our Asian American community in the United States” was welcomed by advocacy leaders to address this issue.
President Trump tweeted: “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus (…) is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!” (Please see separate story.)
Two days earlier, Rep. Judy Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) in the U.S. Congress, had told CNN on that it was “dangerous” for President Trump to keep referring to Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus” at a time when misinformation has led to racist and xenophobic attacks against Asian Americans or anyone in the US who looks East Asian.
CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi reported Congresswoman Chu cited news reports involving violence against Asian Americans. Among these: A woman wearing a face mask assaulted in a New York City subway; a male teenager in L.A., California, who was beaten up by bullies accusing him of having coronavirus, and a family of four in Texas stabbed while trying to buy groceries.
APA Workers on the Frontlines
Remarked Alvina Yeh, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO: “Over 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders work in healthcare, transportation and service industries. These workers are on the frontlines fighting the COVID-19 outbreak – and yet they are facing xenophobic and racial discrimination in the workplace in addition to increased exposure to communicable diseases.”
“Our nation’s public health plan must prioritize protecting these workers and that includes guaranteeing paid sick leave and adequate health insurance coverage. It’s imperative that we take care of the workers who are taking care of our communities,” she said.
APALA AFL-CIO and Advancing Justice|AAJC are members of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of some 30 organizations nationwide. On March 11, NCAPA, along with over 260 organizations, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders in the 116th U.S. Congress to “call for unity and publicly denounce the racist and xenophobic attacks on Asian Americans.”
NCAPA said the letter is a call to action from the civil rights community “to hold Congress accountable and help bring our country together, while not letting fear and misinformation divide us. We urge House and Senate leadership to lead by example, and resist stoking fear and xenophobia, while taking tangible steps to demonstrate that our country’s leaders are committed to standing against racism.”
In related news, Rev. Mansfield “Kasey” Kaseman, Interfaith Community Liaison of the Office of Community Partnerships (www.montgomerycountyinterfaithmd.org) recently enumerated available resources, sources for up-to-date information and guides.
He also stressed, “Our County Executive, Marc Elrich, encourages us not to panic and to be prepared for addressing bias toward our Asian neighbors. Bias is emerging in our schools, as well as public areas, and it deserves to be addressed in our worship services this weekend.”
AA/AAJC List of Help Resources
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC lists the following range of options and resources that may be helpful after one experiences a hate crime or hate incident,
- First, if you were targeted in a hate crime, you may wish to seek help from law enforcement by reporting a crime or filing a complaint.
Contact the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and their Stop Hate project: https://8449nohate.org/. The Stop Hate hotline number is 1-844-9-NO-HATE and it is accessible in a number of languages.
Depending on context in which the discrimination occurs, it may be possible to file a complaint with a federal, state, or local agency. For instance, if workers experience discrimination or harassment on the job, they can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or their local/state human rights enforcement agency. If students or parents experience discrimination in education, they can file a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights or at the local level. Complaints can also be filed with Justice Department on a range of matters.
- Advancing Justice/AAJC also encouraged reporting to its website, www.StandAgainstHatred.org, which is accessible in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. “When people submit reports, they are aiding our efforts to monitor hate incidents across the country. By sharing what you experienced or witnessed, you can educate the public, empower others, show service providers where help is needed, and strengthen advocacy efforts for hate crimes response and prevention.”
- Seek assistance from trusted community-based organizations. CBOs may be able to help mobilize a broader community response.
- “Many of our partner organizations are creating helpful resources. Check out these materials for workers from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance: https://www.apalanet.org/covid19.html
- “Discrimination should never be acceptable anywhere. We encourage our communities and allies to be aware of ways to intervene as a bystander. Here’s a resource from our colleagues with Hollaback!: https://www.ihollaback.org/app/uploads/2016/11/Show-Up_CUPxHollaback.pdf
California Coalition
In California, advocates and educators elaborate on why Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) civil rights organizations have launched a STOP AAPI HATE Reporting Center at www.a3pcon.org/stopaapihate
“We are currently providing support to a child who had to go to the emergency room after he was assaulted and accused by bullies of having the coronavirus, and so that tells us we may need to work with schools to address shunning and school bullying but we need to know how widespread it is,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, the Executive Director of Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON).
Dr. Russell Jeung, chair and professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, noted: “Statements by elected officials, such as President Trump labeling COVID-19 as the ‘Chinese virus,’ fuel xenophobia. In our research on news articles, we see that following inflammatory comments, there’s an increase of racist incidents against Asian Americans. Clearly, with such political framing, Asians of different ethnicities are being racially profiled as a foreign threat.”
Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Chair, California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, commented: “We know that many in our Asian American communities are suffering acts of discrimination, hate crimes and micro-aggressions due to fears of COVID-19. To address what is happening, we need your help. This reporting website will help us create effective policy solutions for long-lasting change with a deeper impact so this doesn’t happen again to our communities or any other community.”
