Recently in the United States, anti-Asian American hate has been on the rise. News reports relating to hate crimes being committed against Asian Americans have been broadcasted almost every day. One of the most recent acts has been a shooting in Atlanta that has resulted in 8 dead, 6 of them being Asian American women. This is not only happening in Atlanta but also New York City and around the US as Asian Americans are targeted and are harassed, jumped upon and violently abused. “While hate crimes against Asians still make up a smaller fraction of all hate crimes reported in America’s 15 largest cities, their number rose from 49 in 2019 to 122 in 2020.” (Anti-Asian Hate Crime in U.S. Rises During Pandemic Year, Katharina Buchholz).
From 2019 to 2020, the overall cases of hate crimes have dropped by 7% but anti-Asian hate crimes have risen 149%. Violence against Asian Americans is also not a recent issue. It has been a concern in multiple parts of the history of the United States. Examples include the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment camps for the Japanese during World War II and the targeting of Koreans in Koreatown during the LA Race Riots of 1992. To stop this anti-Asian hate, we have to acknowledge that this is happening and speak up that it is unacceptable to scapegoat, stereotype, and terrorize Asian Americans.
