Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Two American lawmakers of Asian ancestry have introduced “The Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act” in the 118th U.S. Congress to address the surge in racist acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPIs, which began when the pandemic started last year.
Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D, HI) said the bill would, among other things, designate “an official of the Department of Justice to expeditiously review hate crimes“ reported to federal, state and/or local law enforcement.
The bill would also: 1) Make it easier for victims to report crimes, by providing online reporting in multiple languages at the state and local law enforcement agencies; 2) Issue guidance to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the covid-19 pandemic, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the covid-19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based organizations, and 3) Expand public education campaigns.
Enumerating the measure’s provisions, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D, NY) said she looks forward to the bill becoming a law. “The on-going anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, especially against our elderly, are absolutely horrific,” she stressed.
Congresswoman Meng noted: “The former president and his Congressional Republican enablers trafficked racist, bigoted terms to describe covid-19. In doing so, their language stoked people’s fears and created an atmosphere of intolerance and violence, which persists even today.”
Anti-Asian American racism started to spike in March last year, after then President Trump referred to Covid 19 as “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu,” according to officials, media reports and advocacy groups. Trump said he was merely referring to the origin of the pandemic virus.
Reacting to the Hirono-Meng bill, A.B.Cruz, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) remarked: “The expedited review of hate crimes reported to federal, state, and local law enforcement by the Department of Justice will increase accountability in addressing hate against our community, and establishing a platform for online reporting of hate crimes and incidents in multiple languages will allow more victims to come forward.”
President Biden, who has strongly denounced the escalating racist acts against Asian Americans, has endorsed “The Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act.” But it faces an uphill climb in the evenly split Senate, with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. The bill is opposed by Republicans, led by Senator Lindsey Graham, who noted the nation already has a hate crime law.
The Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), a nonprofit organization based in Virginia, is urging everyone to help fight anti-Asian American racism. MHC Executive Director Arnedo S. Valera said: “Email and call your Congressmen or Congresswomen, as well as your Senators, to vote for the passage of ‘The Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act.’ Ask your family members and your friends to do the same.”
In related news, on April 8 President Biden issued executive orders addressing gun control, which is linked to the spike in racism against Asian Americans, as well as shooting incidents in general.
Asian American Movement
Racist acts against Asian Americans used to be limited to being spat on, coughed on, or being taunted with insults to American-born Asians like “Go back to your country!” Recently, it has grown worse. On February 3, 2021, Filipino American Noel Quintana, age 61, was riding in a New York subway when his face was slashed from ear to ear.
The fatal Atlanta shooting of six Asian Americans in a massage parlor on March 16 is viewed by advocates as a hate crime. Congresswoman Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), has urged the Department of Justice to investigate the Atlanta shooting.
Outraged at seeing others becoming the targets of violent racist acts while simply going about their daily lives, such as crossing the street, Asian Americans nationwide have united in saying, “Enough!”
The media noted they are not the type to hold large-scale rallies. but in March, they held big rallies in New York and the nation’s capital, gaining strength with the participation of the Black community. It is different this time. The fight has now been described as an Asian American Movement.
In an interview several years ago, Frank Odo, former Smithsonian director of the Asian American Program, credited the Black community, with its powerful Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, in helping Asian Americans obtain rights in Mainstream America. The Asian American Movement has also attracted the support of Americans, who have joined in the protest rallies.
The Asian American Movement has united Asian American celebrities in film and on TV, sports, the fashion industry. All of them have issued statements, written commentaries, and granted interviews voicing their support in the fight against racism towards Asian Americans. They have also contributed donations to the cause.
AARP Condemns All Racist Violence
Most of the Asian American victims of hate crimes were the elderly. Asian Fortune asked Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President for Multicultural Leadership, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience Strategy, for reaction from AARP, the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for people age 50 and older. She facilitated the statement from AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins on the issue.
CEO Jenkins cited “data showing a spike last year – in some cases by triple digits – in anti-Asian hate crimes in 16 of the nation’s largest cities.” She said the March 2 analysis comes from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, based on preliminary police data.
Remarked AARP CEO Jo Ann: “Our nation must stand united against coronavirus, which has disproportionately sickened and killed older Americans. These troubling new hate crimes data mean that older Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders not only are concerned about coronavirus, they now also face increased violence and harassment fueled by prejudice, hatred and xenophobia.
“This is a combination that could create barriers to seeking testing, treatment, information or vaccination, at a moment when we as a country must come together and do everything in our power to help contain COVID’s spread. Former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield has said ‘stigma is the enemy of public health,’ and we agree. AARP strongly condemns all racially motivated violence and harassment.”
AARP “is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment.”
Stop AAPI Hate
Stop AAPI Hate said it has received 3,785 reports of anti-Asian American incidents since March last year, with 68.1% involving verbal harassment and 11.1% involving physical assault, according to Politico newspaper.
Between March 19 and December 31, 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received 2,808 reported incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans across the U.S. Visit www.stopaapihate.org for the latest data.
Stop AAPI Hate was founded by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies Department.
Stop AAPI Hate proposed policy actions after hailing President Biden’s Memorandum denouncing Anti-AAPI Hate, issued last January 26.
Stop AAPI Hate added it supports the direction for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to engage with the AAPI community on issues related to hate crimes, hate incidents and harassment, including ensuring that data is collected in a robust manner.
It urged the administration “to go further and direct the DOJ to not only engage the Asian American community, but also to investigate and initiate civil action and to fully fund outreach and education initiatives.”
History of bias vs. Asians
A CNN March 6 report, “Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here’s what you can do,” pointed out that while Covid-19 may have given rise to today’s xenophobia, racism against Asian Americans is not new.
The report quoted New York University Associate Professor Doris Chang as saying racism against Asians in the U.S. dates back to the 1800s. Chang traced the history of single men recruited from China for cheap American labor in mines and railroad construction.
As the nation’s economy worsened, they were eventually seen by white men as a threat to their jobs. Chang said eventually, it led to Congress passing “The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,” which barred immigration based on one’s race.
