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Since the beginning of the pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed. The violence is accompanied by hateful language, slurs and condemnations weaponized in the name of bigotry, ready to explode in the mouths of strangers. As Asians cautiously step out from the safety of their own homes, there is a persistent background fear that the language used to colonize us will prove more violent still and will attack at any moment.
As Asian American communities reel from an upstick in violence and hate spurred by racist rhetoric about the corona virus pandemic, I as an advocate is urging Americans to be allies in actionable ways that go beyond words to stop racism in any forms, and stop the hate crimes against Asian American Pacific Islanders. Let' us do the right thing.

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Today, I Am A Witness To Change

Today, I wake up tired
a tiredness that plagues me
soft grey hues, contrasting over a grieving landscape,
filled with many frigid hearts.

Today, I ache
I lay in the pre-dawn
Moon shadows on my window blinds
Contented kittens purring at my side.
On the radio, news of greater challenges
Challenges that require more than I can handle alone

An Asian-American died because of hate.
a child lost his mother.
Today we mourn
I cry and pray for the world.
I want the attacks to be called what they are: Terrorism.

Today I feel we need more than conversation
Let us take more than a moment of silence
Let us find our humanity
Let us remember
Let us take action

Today I hesitate
for the first time, I wonder if I should stay home and not walk the neighborhood.
it's not the weather or the virus — the day is beautiful
Today
I'm frozen
Terrified.
I cannot hide
This skin
This hair
These eyes.
I see the punch, punch, punch of a community at war.
Today I am a witness.
I rush past the jeering white boys that say I brought corona to America.
My soul is wary.

Today, a video call full of empty boxes
Stares at me, apprehensively.
Students locked behind a screen
Their hearts and minds
Severed
From one another.

Today, the headlines say March Madness
Today, I don't watch basketball.
The madness is in the streets.
In broad daylight.
On the concrete sidewalks of New York.
In the silence of bystanders.
It's in the textbooks. The classrooms. The family dinners. The lies we tell.

Today the rain falls
and falls
and falls
and falls.
a silent tear from a weeping woman.
Today, I will say their names
I will cancel class and try again tomorrow.

Today, a Chinese man travels back in time.
The hateful and racist words hurled at a lonely child emerges from buried memories
Today I offer a slice of my own wounded soul
to graft a love patch
A patchwork piece for a more perfect union

Today, I think about my best friend's Korean Mom,
if it was her kicked to the ground
in New York,
or punched in California,
or shot in Georgia.

Today I remember the idea
of America
as a melting pot
the past twelve years
looking over my shoulder
watching my back

The Steak and Shake waitress in 2006
Who outright refused to wait on me
Who threw the menu
In great disdain

The young woman in Alum Creek
Who was with her boyfriend
who Threw a stone at me
Because I was doing my Tai Chi
At the top of the 116 steps
That I loved to go up and down

I want to be somewhere
and nowhere at once
I cringe at our disunity
I stand back in awe of the never diminishing divisiveness
I cry for the misunderstood and those that misunderstand

Today I tell my youngest child that
when I was a child
I wished I was white
I was silent
I allowed people around me to mispronounce my name

Today the dragon bends
From western winds
Blown hot from valleys deep.
Scorched skies belie the spring.
Heads bowed. All weep.
Outside my window, the daughter bends to examine the fish in the pond,
slowly gliding out of their winter torpor. Her name means
celebration in Chinese. It also means blessing.

Today I remember the sacrifices of my grandmother
Her steely eyes that shed many tears
Her small, sinewy hands that clung to her children
Her diminutive feet that leapt over the ocean
Today, I will use her strength that courses through my veins.

Today I am witness to change
As I sit inside our bookstore,
arranging the carefully printed and bound
words of so many voices
I wonder who will welcome the truth

The Joy Luck Club
The Hungry Tide
Prairie Lotus
Pachinko
The Namesake

So many words
Each leaving an imprint
Like a grain of rice
Stockpiled and cataloged
knowledge gleaned, gathered
Empathy enhanced

Today I will ferry you across the troubled waters.
hold you close, in any way you crave.

Today, I think not only of the cold ignorance of man
but the small ember of warmth we transfer when we love.

Today, I rise.

Today, we stop telling lies.

I will stand.
I will speak.

I will stand.
I will speak.

Today, I will return to normal
Attending church
eating out
walking
being
because Today
we will persevere

- Crowd Sourced Poem Against Anti Asian Hate

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A conversation on Anti Asian Hate .

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How Asian American Communities in LA Are Responding To Surge in Asian Hate Crimes

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How Asian American Communities in LA Are Responding To Surge in Asian Hate Crimes

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How LA Communities Are Responding To A Surge In Anti-Asian Hate

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Showing others that you are an ally, that you care about their well-being and are committed to diversity, inclusion, equity and anti-racism is one way to take action.

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"For centuries, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, diverse and vibrant communities have helped build this nation only to be often stepped over, forgotten, or ignored. My message to all of those who are hurting is, we see you. And we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias."

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Biden signs law targeting hate crimes against Asian Americans

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What you can do to fight violence and racism against Asian Americans

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What you can do to fight violence and racism against Asian Americans

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1. Speak out if you witness a hate crime or incident
2. Report the hate crime or incident
3. Consider taking part in a training about hate
4. Check in with your Asian American peers
5. Learn about the history of Asian American discrimination
6. Advocate for awareness in your workplace.

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PETITION TO END ASIAN HATE CRIMES AND DISCRIMINATION

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PETITION TO END ASIAN HATE CRIMES AND DISCRIMINATION

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Looking for ways to take action AND #StopAsianHate? Take the first step by signing this petition

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0 have signed. Let's get to 2,500!

"I didn't like the way he looked at me. . . . If he dies, he dies."
A 36-year-old man was stabbed with an 8-inch knife while walking in New York City's Chinatown. The victim remains in critical condition. Between March and December last year, the organization Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate recorded nearly 3,000 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents nationwide. The NYPD also reported a 1,900% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes last year. The rise in hate crimes targeting Asians has had a profound and chilling impact on Asian communities across the nation. We must come together to stand up to these
hateful acts and fight for the rights of Asian communities in America. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Being Asian in America has long been about belonging to a society that has had a precarious relationship with the faces and names and culture of Asian origin. Asians have historically been dismissed, deprioritized, and excluded from meaningful civil rights discourse in America. From the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was constitutional to the former President referring to COVID-19 as the "Chinese Virus," there is a long American history of shaping the perception of Asian Americans as "perpetual foreigners."
We will no longer be silent, nor will be succumb to the oppression that is embedded in the "model minority myth." Join our communities to stand united against racism.

1. We Demand Manhattan DA to pursue investigations with the possibility of bringing
additional charges of a hate crime: When the motive involves targeting someone because of race, it becomes a hate crime. As such, we call for an immediate and committed investigation. The accused defendant admitted, "I did not like the way [the victim] looked at me." Failure to diligently investigate evidence of a hate crime charge demonstrates abject apathy and indifference.

2. We Demand Local and State Government to Commit Funds to Asian Community Groups to Combat Anti-Asian Racism: In California, the state government committed $1.4 million to help Asian Americans report hate incidents and track attacks against Asians. The Asian Community, grass roots movements, and community level Institutions should be financially backed to detect, report, and support the needs of individual members. (e.g., Rise Justice Labs ; Stop AAPI Hate ; Minkwon). Increasing policing is not a long term solution.

3. The Public Should Not be Misled by Rhetoric Pitting Minority Communities Against One Another: The battle we must fight is not between victim's community versus the accused suspect's community. It is a battle between everyone versus racism. Throughout American history, the foundations of civil rights were solidified and advanced by movements led by many Black community members. We should be aware that framing the issue in a way that pits one minority community against another is counterproductive to our common goal of fighting racism. We should march and protest together in solidarity.

4. Stop the Gaslighting: The model minority myth is a form of unwelcome gaslighting
rooted in stereotypes. It perpetuates a characterization of Asian Americans as a polite, law-abiding group who should be content with pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant striving. Thus, this mentality deters Asians from speaking up, engaging in public discourse, and fighting for Asian rights. The model minority myth is a falsehood conjured for the purpose of oppressing and subduing Asian voices.

5. Eliminate Racism Targeting Asians in our Schools, Cyberspace, Workplace, and Public Places: We demand that the Governor, Mayor, Human Rights Commission/Task Force, Public Advocate, Department of Education, EEOC, Attorney General regularly meet with local community organizations, PTAs, School boards, Workers' Unions, and advocacy groups. We demand that there be public forums, education and training across sectors to detect instances of harassment, cyberbullying, and bias experienced by Asian Community members, and find ways to support those impacted through economic, legal, and political means.

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"I didn't like the way he looked at me. . . . If he dies, he dies."A 36-year-old man was stabbed with an 8-inch knife while walking in New York City's Chinatown. The victim remains in critical condition. Between March and December last year, the organization Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate recorded nearly 3,000 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents nationwide.