The Rise of Anti-Asian Violence
A man holds a portrait of late Vichar Ratanapakdee, left, a 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, who was violently shoved to the ground in a deadly attack in San Francisco, during a community rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes, in response to the string of violent racist attacks against Asians during the pandemic, held at Los Angeles Historic Park near the Chinatown district in Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, attacks on Asian Americans have risen across the country and in Illinois. While the nature of these attacks vary, from shouted slurs to a tackle that proved fatal for an older man in San Francisco, many are united by a common thread: an anti-Chinese sentiment is rooted in the apparent origin of the outbreak — which first took place in Wuhan, China. There's also a long history of anti-Asian sentiment in America.
The 21st spoke with a researcher and an anti-hate training coordinator about hateful incidents past and present.
Guests:
Melissa Borja, Ph.D, Assistant Professor at the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan and Researcher at Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center
Catherine Shieh, Anti-hate Training Coordinator at Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Chicago
Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi
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