In addition to the trauma of the global pandemic, it's been a year of increased racist and violent rhetoric(opens in a new tab) against Asian American communities across the country. After a series of horrific attacks(opens in a new tab) around the turn of the new year in Oakland, California, and New York City(opens in a new tab)'s Chinatown neighborhoods, internet users are trying to help #StopAsianHate by donating to community organizations, supporting victims, and sharing stories that are typically silenced.
Celebrities and multinational corporations — from actors like Daniel Dae Kim (opens in a new tab)and media behemoths like Netflix and Paramount(opens in a new tab) — have also contributed to the #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate hashtags, sharing useful Twitter threads(opens in a new tab) and encouraging community members and victims to report instances of racism and violence, which tend to be underreported.(opens in a new tab)
The new presidential administration has weighed in as well, in an apparent effort to show its commitment to anti-racist leadership and anti-discrimination policies. President Biden issued a memorandum(opens in a new tab) at the end of January condemning both the crimes themselves and comments by former President Trump that "stoked unfounded fears and perpetuated stigma about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and have contributed to increasing rates of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] persons."
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Even with these public statements of support, however, communities still report being fearful of public spaces. School officials in New York City report that families are hesitant(opens in a new tab) to send their children to public schools, according to NBC News. And hundreds have begun organizing safety walks(opens in a new tab) for elderly Asian Americans who normally go out in Oakland unassisted.
There's a lot you can do beyond hashtags and statements, however, from donating money to worthy causes to attending online trainings. Here are some ways you can contribute to an environment of safety, inclusion, and empathy for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Support relevant nonprofits
Advocacy and community groups have called for supporters to share their actions online and donate to on-the-ground safety measures and legal advocacy work.
Last week, Twitter user Deepa Iyer (@dviyer(opens in a new tab)) shared such a list of organizations and relevant articles, which was in turn widely shared by celebrities and activists. We've compiled a list of a few of these organizations, among others, which you could consider supporting.
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On Mar. 2, GoFundMe launched its own #StopAsianHate campaign with the AAPI Community Fund(opens in a new tab), a single donation portal that collects and redistributes donations to organizations "working to rectify racial injustice" for AAPI community in the form of grants, according to the site. The fund's currently raised $35,000 of its $500,000 goal. The fundraising platform also added a central page(opens in a new tab) of verified fundraisers supporting the AAPI community in different ways.
Compassion in Oakland(opens in a new tab) was founded at the beginning of 2021 by four Bay Area activists(opens in a new tab) to coordinate safety measures for Oakland community members, mainly through volunteer-organized escorts for people fearful of public violence. If you are in the area, you can volunteer as an escort using this Google form(opens in a new tab).
The Stop AAPI Hate(opens in a new tab) reporting center was founded last March by the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council(opens in a new tab), Chinese for Affirmative Action(opens in a new tab), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University(opens in a new tab) to document increasing rates of anti-Asian American sentiment. It “tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California and where possible throughout the United States.” You can donate(opens in a new tab) to the center or share your own stories, which helps the center's advocacy efforts.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice(opens in a new tab) is a nonprofit legal advocacy group organizing for equal protections for Asian American communities. You can donate(opens in a new tab) to the network or support one of the network's affiliates(opens in a new tab) that does work on the ground in Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
AAPI Progressive Action(opens in a new tab) is a political advocacy group that works to increase the political representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through policy support, voting campaigns, and candidate advocacy. The group accepts donations(opens in a new tab) that go toward efforts to get community members in positions of power.
Chinese for Affirmative Action(opens in a new tab), one of the organizers behind a Bay Area coalition demanding action(opens in a new tab) against violence from San Francisco and Oakland leaders, is a progressive advocacy group working on both community and federal levels to protect the safety and equality of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. You can donate(opens in a new tab) to their advocacy work or apply to volunteer(opens in a new tab) as an interpreter or translator to aid their community work.
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Learn about bystander intervention
Bystander intervention programs help teach allies and community members how to respond to and de-escalate instances of racist or violent attacks. Over the last year, organizations have offered online trainings to help people mediate public conflicts.
Hollaback!(opens in a new tab) is an anti-harassment nonprofit that provides safety and intervention training for women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized communities. The organization collaborated with Asian Americans Advancing Justice for free online bystander intervention and de-escalation trainings(opens in a new tab) for allies and community members. The next session will be hosted on March 15 at 6 p.m. ET. You can sign up on the Hollaback! website(opens in a new tab).
IMPACT(opens in a new tab), a self defense nonprofit based in California's Bay Area, has transitioned its safety courses online. You can still register(opens in a new tab) for the "Interrupting Oppression"(opens in a new tab) Zoom course — upcoming sessions are on Feb. 20, Feb. 27, and March 6. The organization also offered a personal safety(opens in a new tab) online course, which will be available through Zoom on March 18.
The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project(opens in a new tab) published a guide to responding to racism(opens in a new tab) toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law(opens in a new tab) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice partner to provide educational resources(opens in a new tab) through the Stop Hate project(opens in a new tab), which also operates a hotline to report instances of discrimination. The hotline can be reached at 1-844-9-NO-HATE.
Participate in some self education
This country's legacy of racism against Asian Americans goes well beyond recent rhetoric and is rooted in centuries of discrimination, as NBC News reports(opens in a new tab).
Reading and sharing personal accounts from victims of racist attacks helps build awareness of that legacy's continued effects. It can also encourage quicker official responses.
After the murder of Oakland resident Vincent Chin on Jan. 31, celebrities(opens in a new tab) sought help finding the perpetrator via Twitter, who was arrested(opens in a new tab) one week later. When New York City resident Lee-Lee Chin-Yeung was attacked on Feb. 16, actress Olivia Munn(opens in a new tab) asked her followers to help. The NYPD made an arrest three days later(opens in a new tab) based on numerous community tips, NBC News reported.
Listed below are public databases of crimes reported across the country:
Reports made to the Stop AAPI Hate center are available to the public online(opens in a new tab).
Asian Americans Advancing Justice has been documenting and sharing instances of hate since 2017, as a way of increasing awareness and visibility of targeted discrimination. You can add your own story or read others’ reports on the Stand Against Hatred website(opens in a new tab). The organization also has an array of educational resources(opens in a new tab) available.
South Asian Americans Leading Together(opens in a new tab), a nonprofit and nonpartisan advocacy group, documents instances of hate towards South Asian, Sikh, Muslim, and Arab communities. You can report your own story or read through the organization's database(opens in a new tab).
Advocate for anti-discrimination legislation
Beyond individual action to stop the rise of hate crimes, activists believe policy at all levels needs to reflect a commitment to anti-discrimination practices. Advocacy groups, including those mentioned above, work year-round to promote rights legislation specifically helping AAPI groups.
Stop AAPI Hate issued a report(opens in a new tab) in October of 2020 that documented a rise in anti-Asian American sentiment and xenophobic statements from politicians over the last year which, it argued, influenced federal policies that disproportionately and negatively impacted Asian Americans.
While legislative commitments to anti-discrimination could be seen as largely symbolic, they also show that political representatives might be willing to move away from some of the stigmatizing language of the previous administration and its attendant negative effects. It also suggests that they are capable of being pushed to more meaningful action on behalf of Asian Americans.
Stop AAPI Hate supported(opens in a new tab) the passage of House Resolution 908(opens in a new tab), which condemned racism against Asian Americans. The organization encourages you to track how your representative voted(opens in a new tab) and follow up with their commitment (or lack thereof).
California House Resolution 23(opens in a new tab) was introduced on Feb. 12, encouraging the California Assembly to denounce the rise in hate crimes and pledge "to ensure that APIs feel safe and welcome, both during this COVID-19 pandemic and beyond."
You can urge your representatives to publicly support and vote for national and local legislation that explicitly protects AAPI communities as it arises. Following the work of the organizations mentioned above can help you do so and stay in it for the long haul, helping to make the U.S. a safer place for all.
UPDATE: March 2, 2021, 10:06 a.m. EST This article was updated to include information about GoFundMe's #StopAsianHate campaign, released on Mar. 2.
