AAPI, or Asian American and Pacific Islander people have faced a lot of discrimination and hate throughout history. The recent surge of hate crimes is not something new, it is only another symptom or the real disease: racism.
History of Hatred Against AAPI (from the Harvard Gazette, PBS)
Mid 19th Century- Yellow Peril, the racist ideology that Asian immigrants would disrupt the American culture, begins to spread as Chinese immigration increases
Late 19th Century- white nativists spread propaganda about Chinese people being dirty in San Francisco
Chinese Massacre of 1871- 19 residents were murdered by a mob in LA's Chinatown
Page Exclusion Act of 1875- prohibited the entry of Chinese women into America
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882- banned immigration of Chinese laborers
Early 20th Century-American officials belittle Filipinos for being "unclean" and "uncivilized"
World War II (1939-1945)- forced internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans
Murder of Vincent Chin 1982- a Chinese American was beaten to death by two Detroit autoworkers who thought he was Japanese
And now, today. According to NBC, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 150% in 2020. President Donald Trump called the coronavirus the "Kung Flu" and "Chinese virus," which has been cited as a cause of the upsurge in anti-Asian hate crimes. Multiple attacks against AAPI elders have been caught on video and spread on social media. In March of 2021, a series of shootings occurred at Asian owned spas in Atlanta, Georgia, where 8 people died. The shooter cited his "sexual desire" towards them as his motive.
Racism kills. Hatred kills. We must acknowledge what is actually going on and stand up for our AAPI siblings. So, we created our Stop AAPI Hate bracelet. A portion of proceeds is donated to Stop Asian Hate, a recently organized drive that distributes donations between Mekong NYC, Asian Health Services, Oakland Chinatown Ambassadors Program, AAPI Women Lead, and Khmer Girls in Action. For more information, visit gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate.
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