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04.13.2021
Violence against Asian Americans – which has increased exponentially during the pandemic fueled by the ex-president and his hateful rhetoric -- is not new. Even though attacks are up 150% over the past year, it took the brutal murder of eight people in Georgia last month, including six women of Asian American descent –to bring these attacks to widespread attention. This excellent piece from NPR’s Code Switch looks into America’s long history of discrimination and violence against Asian Americans and unpacks the sexualization and marginalization of Asian American women.
The piece also debunks the myth that Black people are largely to blame for attacks against Asian Americans – 90% of recent attacks are by whites -- and lifts up the history of Black support of Asian people, including Muhammed Ali’’s and Dr. King’s opposition to the Vietnam war.
We would also like to draw attention to this statement by Fountain House Executive Director Ashwin Vasan on the increase in violence against Asian Americans.