Anti-Asian Hate — Our Journey in Review

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Anti-Asian Hate — Our Journey in Review

Dear Friends,

We are now more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hate and harassment directed at Asian Americans continue. The FBI reported a 76% increase in hate crime incidents motivated by anti-Asian bias in 2020, compared to 2019. These have been challenging times for so many. With your support, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC continues to partner with our affiliates and organizations across the country to help and strengthen our communities in the face of anti-Asian hate and harassment. We would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been accomplished and what we will need to do moving forward.

Stand Against Hatred

Reports from our community members to our Stand Against Hatred website (StandAgainstHatred.org), a tracker that encourages reporting of hate incidents and documents anti-Asian hate, more than doubled in 2021, a 135% increase compared to 2020. This means anti-Asian hate is still surging, and the Asian American community still urgently needs investments from various sectors. More than 160,000 of you visited StandAgainstHatred.org to access resources and information, a 385% increase from 2020. To ensure that people with limited English proficiency can have their experiences included, you can report in Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, and Vietnamese.

It is critical that we have accurate data so that we can better understand the challenges our communities are facing and develop appropriate responses and solutions. We encourage the Asian American community members to report anti-Asian hate incidents to the StandAgainstHatred.org website to help us track hate incidents our community faces across the country. You can report anonymously, and we will keep your information confidential. Your reports give Advancing Justice – AAJC the information we need to advocate for policies that address anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents.

Report Now

Among the reports we have received, many people shared being targeted because of their racial or ethnic identities or other people’s perceptions of them as women or immigrants. Community members have faced physical attacks, verbal abuse, declination of services, discrimination at workplaces, alienation, and more. Many people spoke about racial slurs, anti-Chinese sentiment, and being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hate incident submitted through StandAgainstHatred.org

Accessible Anti-Harassment Trainings for Communities

Advancing Justice – AAJC continues to offer trainings with our partner Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!) to help the Asian American community in the face of anti-Asian hate and harassment. From 2021 through March 2022, we have reached more than 85,000 individuals through our three trainings on how to address anti-Asian hate and harassment. According to post-training evaluation results from Right To Be, among all people who reported witnessing anti-Asian harassment after participating in a bystander intervention training, 75% reported intervening as a direct result of our training, a best practice in reducing trauma and de-escalating violence.

To make the training more accessible to the diverse Asian American communities, in the Fall of 2021, we launched bilingual sessions and now offer bystander intervention training in Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

In addition, we offer two other trainings in partnership with Right To Be — Bystander Intervention 2.0: Conflict De-Escalation and How To Respond To Harassment For People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment. Register below to attend our upcoming trainings:

Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment, available in Korean and Vietnamese. May 24, 3pm Hawaii / 4pm Alaska / 5pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern. Register here.
How to Respond to Harassment for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment. June 2, 7am Hawaii / 8am Alaska / 9am Pacific / 10am Mountain / 11am Central / 12pm Eastern. Register here.
Bystander Intervention 2.0: Conflict De-Escalation. June 6, 6am Hawaii / 7am Alaska / 8am Pacific / 9am Mountain / 10am Central / 11am Eastern. Register here.
Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment, available in Tagalog. June 14, 3pm Hawaii / 4pm Alaska / 5pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern. Register here.
Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment, available in Hindi. June 29, 3pm Hawaii / 4pm Alaska / 5pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern. Register here.

To stay up to date on future trainings, follow us on social media or check our Trainings To Address Anti-Asian/American Harassment webpage.

Investing in Local Communities

To better support community-based organizations to address anti-Asian hate in local communities, we distributed grant funding from Kaiser Permanente to 34 organizations across the country as part of our Stop Anti-Asian Hate and Violence Initiative (SAAHVI). SAAHVI grantees — most of which are community-based, direct service organizations — offer linguistically and culturally competent social services, work to provide greater support for underserved Pacific Islander communities, improve mental health services for nonprofit staff, hold healing circles for the AAPI community, and foster cross-racial dialogues to strengthen solidarity.

In addition, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation is redistributing $3 million to 68 organizations spanning 15 states, as well as $600,000 to the Emergency Victims and Survivors Fund in Georgia. These organizations serve a wide range of communities and are working on racial justice, community safety, gender-based violence response, economic security, immigrant rights, and voting rights, and more. Together, they represent many of the affiliation’s closest community-based and coalition partners.

Historic Passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

Advancing Justice – AAJC continues to advocate for policies that will better serve Asian American communities. On May 20, 2022, we will celebrate the historic passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. Advancing Justice – AAJC contributed to strengthening the legislation, including incorporating the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act into the final version of the bill. We also worked to muster support among members of Congress, including fighting off amendments that would have undercut the intent of the legislation.

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act tackles broader infrastructural improvements needed in hate crimes data collection, reporting, and connection to support services. It includes provisions to expand language access and allows for culturally competent and linguistically accessible public education campaigns. This emphasis on language access is critical for providing Asian American communities impacted by hate with information regarding reporting and support services. The bill also includes measures to expand restorative justice practices and alternative sentencing, which is an important step towards building more community-oriented responses to hate crimes and hate incidents instead of incarceration and punishment.

While the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will help us hold government agencies and law enforcement accountable to our communities’ needs, we also recognize there is much more work to be done. This is a first step leading into a better future for Asian Americans. With your support, Advancing Justice – AAJC will continue to advocate for national and local responses that are community-focused and fully informed by the needs of communities of color, so we are all able to live without fear of racial violence and harassment.

President Joe Biden and John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice – AAJC, at the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act signing on May 20, 2021.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is planning a Week of Action against hate during the week of May 16, leading to the anniversary of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and featuring conversations with impacted individuals and discussions of federal policy advocacy. On May 19 from 4:00 - 5:30pm ET, you will hear from survivors of hate crimes and policy advocates on the impact of hate. Click HERE to RSVP.

We Are Here to Do the Work

We are so appreciative of each and every one of you who has stepped up to attend trainings, report hate incidents, speak out on behalf of the Asian American community, and support the ongoing work of Advancing Justice – AAJC and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation.

You have demonstrated great resilience. And we cannot achieve these milestones without you. Thank you for standing strong with us. Advancing Justice – AAJC will continue to advocate for you and the Asian American community now and in the future!

Support Justice

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