Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals have suffered from racist treatment continuously throughout American history and the coronavirus outbreak provoked yet another form of racist treatment Asians and Asian Americans starting last January. And recently this racism is on the rise again across the country–ranging from verbal harassment, denial of service, boycotting of Asian-owned businesses, social media attacks, robberies, to violent physical assaults.

The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race strongly condemns this discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. Truly racially inclusive communities will only be so if they stand in solidarity with any group that experiences hate crimes and bias. In addition to resisting the xenophobia occasioned by the pandemic, we must be aware of and resist the ‘model minority’ trope that seeks to deny anti-Asian racism.

Asian American lawmakers, activists, and others support the NO HATE Act which was introduced in 2019. It seeks to promote better hate crimes data collection as well as a more informed approach to hate crime prevention at the federal, state, and local levels. We encourage people to learn more about the history of AAPI individuals, racial equity efforts, and the No Hate Act from these resources:

Stop AAPI Hate

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act

History of Asian Americans Documentary

Speak Up! Against Bias