Stop Asian Hate: Anti-Racist Strategies

Asian Americans: We hear you, we see you, and we condemn the violent hate crimes against you that are happening, and have happened, in the United States.

Anti-Asian violence has been on the rise over the last year here in the United States, but the recent murders are not isolated incidents, and are instead part of a legacy of racism again AAPIs.

As we shared in our Black Lives Matter post: Racism is a long-standing virus in our country. This virus is not new—it is engrained in our history. And what is happening in our country now (and throughout our time as a nation) is motivated by the White systemic racism that permeates structures and motivations of this country.

There is no in-between safe space of  being not racist, and thus we must be anti-racist. As a reminder, here are some key resources to working towards an anti-racist society for all BIPOCs:

First, educate yourself on the racism faced by AAPIs today and the history of this racism: 

• “CNN’s Lisa Ling Calls Out Anti-Asian Racism: ‘It’s Open Season on People Who Look Like Me”
• “Why the rise in anti-Asian violence is a call to confront America’s legacy of racism”
• “Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by nearly 150% in 2020, mostly in N.Y. and L.A., new report says”
• “The History of Anti-Asian Sentiment in the U.S.”
• “Amber Ruffin breaks down America’s history of anti-Asian racism in searing segment”
• “Gene Luen Yang’s #AsiansAreHumans”

Educators: Also, educate your students: 

• “Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s We Are Not a Stereotype: Breaking Down Asian Pacific American Bias”

Then, it’s time to start doing. Remember: educating ourselves is critical, but it is only the first step. Action must follow:

• “15 Ways You Can Help the Asian American Community Right Now”
• “How to Tangibly Support Us Asians. Today.” 
• Make a tangible action plan within your local community. Take action today.

Share posts from AAPI activists or organizations that inform about, fight against anti-Asian racism and support—through volunteering and financially, if you can—the organizations however you can: 

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta
• AAPI Women Lead
• National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence
• Stop AAPI Hate
• National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum

Support works produced by AAPI artists and creatives, support AAPI businesses, and participate in Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: 

• “10 Movies by Asian American Directors You Can Stream Right Now”
• “35 Asian American-Owned Businesses You Can Support Right Now”
• “AAPI-Owned Bookstores to Support”
• 2021 AAPI Heritage Month information

Highlight the history and contributions of the AAPI community. One way this can be done is by reading and sharing books by AAPI authors and about AAPI characters with our students, kids, family, etc. 

• Pragmatic Mom’s list of AAPI Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators
• Books for Littles #OwnVoices American Asian and Pacific Islanders Unpolished Book List
• New York Public Library’s #ownvoices Asian Pacific American Picture Books and Children’s Comics List
• Jillian Heise has curated an #ownvoices Asian American text set
• Read works by AAPI authors (This list is focused on children’s and young adult authors and limited by our limits; please be sure to click the links throughout the post for more book recommendations, and keep your finger on the pulse of new releases to constantly learn and grow. Please share other authors you recommend in the comments section, and we will add them.)
  • Samira Ahmed
  • S.K. Ali
  • Hanna Alkaf
  • Nandini Bajpai
  • Anjali Banerjee
  • Sona Charaipotra
  • Traci Chee
  • Tina Cho
  • Roshana Chokshi
  • Amy Chu
  • Sayantani DasGupta
  • Saadia Faruqi
  • I.W. Gregorio
  • Jenny Han
  • Veera Hiranandani
  • Joanna Ho
  • Mike Jung
  • Cynthia Kadohata
  • Anna Kang
  • Hena Khan
  • Anna Kim
  • Thanhha Lai
  • Minh Lê
  • Stacey Lee
  • Grace Lin
  • Malinda Lo
  • Marie Lu
  • Lensey Namioka
  • Trung Le Nguyen
  • Linda Sue Park
  • Mitali Perkins
  • Randy Ribay
  • Aisha Saeed
  • Dan Santat
  • Kashmira Sheth
  • Christina Soontornvat
  • Chieri Uegaki
  • Thrity Umrigar
  • Padma Venkatraman
  • Jen Wang
  • Gene Luen Yang
  • Kelly Yang
  • Jennifer Yen
  • David Yoon
  • Farhana Zia

Continue to listen to AAPI voices and do not stop educating yourself. Only through ongoing work will we work our way towards an anti-racist society. 

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**Please note: Many of these links have been widely shared on social media, and we curated them here and added many others, particularly connected to reading, to give them a concrete place. This is shared work.**