Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?
Written by Cici Cui from Bellevue Christian School in Washington, USA
“To make sacrifices to a ghost that is not one’s own is toadying.”
Confucius (551-479 BCE)
March 2021, Atlanta: Six Asian women shot dead by a white male.
February 2022, Los Angeles: 17 Chinese elders massacred while celebrating Lunar New Year. New York City: “You don’t belong here, you Asian,” said an American before knocking down a Filipino elder.
Since 2020, hate crimes directed at Asian Americans have increased tenfold. In just October 2023, the FBI reported a seven per cent increase in racist attacks on the Asian community. It appears that long after the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American discrimination is still present as ever, and growing.
Although it can be challenging to measure the effectiveness of the anti-racism movement in the United States, one can see definite progress for minority communities such as those of African, Hispanic, and Jewish descent. This has not been the case for Asian Americans.
By comparing the intensity of discrimination African Americans face now versus a hundred years ago, there is clear progress. For example, in 1940, sixty per cent of Black people worked as domestic servants. Now, only two per cent work as servants and more than 60 per cent hold office jobs [1]. The Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 instigated a big jump in awareness among all Americans.
Hispanics have also seen a reduction in prejudice against their community. The Chicano Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s significantly improved the lives of Mexican Americans. Now most people of Hispanic origin are treated better and integrated into U.S. society [2].
Jewish Americans had a difficult time being welcomed into American society, especially during and after WWII. Jews were long discriminated against at every level and turn. Now the Jewish population is much more accepted and integrated, and the United States is the second most Jewish-populated country.
This is not to say that Blacks, Hispanics and Jews no longer face race-based abuse. They certainly do. But relatively speaking, Asians have a much longer road to travel.
The Asian American experience is different
Increased prejudice against Asian Americans during COVID should not have been a surprise. The Asian American minority has faced a long history of racism. Since the 1850’s when Asians were enslaved during the California Gold Rush, Asians have experienced severe discrimination. In 1871, “The Chinatown War” broke out in Los Angeles, followed by the “Massacre of 1871”. It is estimated that ten per cent of the Chinese population in California were murdered between 1800 and 1900 [3].
Alongside these traumatic events, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882. This legislation stipulated a 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the US [4]. Shortly after this political act, a genocidal mob murdered the 31 remaining Chinese coal miners in California. Half a century later, racial injustice turned especially ugly when 120,000 Japanese American citizens were forced into internment camps during World War II. At one point right before the war, Asians were even denied citizenship and naturalization by the US government [5]. The Asian-American community is no stranger to historical mistreatment in the United States.
And then came the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022, which took the nation by surprise. 1.3 million Americans lost their lives. Asian Americans faced a second surprise–they quickly became the scapegoats for many political forces. COVID originated in China, but the scapegoaters spewed their hate and violence on anyone who looked Asian.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that a seven per cent increase in Asian-American-directed hate crimes can be seen as of October 2023. Recently, the 2020 global pandemic of COVID-19 has also accelerated racial injustice towards Asian-Americans. Many Americans calling the virus the “WuHan Virus” spread the idea of blaming Asians for the sudden economic instability. The social rejection of Asians set an even worse reputation for their community.
Once the pandemic struck, almost ten thousand Asian-American-directed hate crimes were reported in less than a year. This was ten times the annual amount from the year before. Since the pandemic, above thirty per cent of Asians say that they know other Asians who have been attacked or threatened because of their race.
With Americans scapegoating Asians as the cause of the pandemic, ideas of Asian-American hate spread throughout America. Following this renewed outbreak of Asian discrimination, a Pew Research Center survey found that one in three Asians feel not tolerated by their fellow citizens. This burst in discrimination has put the Asian community in immense fear and disbelief. Asians come to America hoping for opportunities for a better, freer life. This prejudice makes them feel unwelcome and afraid in the land of the free.
The anti-racism movement falls short for Asian Americans
Asians are especially vulnerable to racist hate and injustice in the United States. It is important to analyze why. First, the community as a whole lacked preparedness. They were truly unprepared for the hate to be directed at them when COVID-19 disrupted American life. The pandemic struck America just as swiftly as it struck Asia. Asian-Americans living in America had no time to take any precautions before the discrimination started. Covid-induced hate toward Asians caught them by surprise.
Secondly, Asians have not built an anti-hate infrastructure anywhere near what other minorities have accomplished. Compared to others, they are relatively new at constructing networks and raising visibility. Blacks, Latinos and Jews have been building the anti-racism movement for a very long time. Their organizations are skilled at raising funds and investing them wisely into the movement. Asians have come late to those tasks. Blacks and Hispanics began to fight hate in the early 20th century. Jewish Americans have been organizing since the mid-20th century. Asians have only started organizing the anti-racism fight since the Covid pandemic of the 21st century.
After Emancipation, African Americans faced a century of sanctioned segregation and civil and human rights abuses. This gave the Black community time to organise and push back [10]. The founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 also contributed to African-American recognition [11]. Over a century later, 62 identified African-American support groups help defend Black lives. [12]
In contrast, the oldest and largest Asian-American support group is called the National Association of Asian American Professionals. This union was founded in 1982 by a team of Asians. The NAAAP was founded almost 75 years after the NAACP. Additionally, the UnidosUS and the League of United Latin American Citizens have more than 100,000 members [16], while NAAAP has only around 5,000 [17].
Jewish Americans already formed the Anti-Defamation League in 1913. During WWII, European Jewish families were forced to create alliances when hiding together in hopes of avoiding these concentration camps. Once the war had ended, the Jewish community had already prepared themselves to fight more hate. Jewish Americans have since then overcome much discrimination and formed the Anti-Defamation League. They were no longer barred from many institutions. Jewish populations in America increased significantly after the war from refugees in search of a new home [13].
Between 1910 and 1930, the Mexican Revolution caused many immigrants to flee from their homes to the safety of the USA. The establishment of a feudal-like system of government in Central America led Mexican immigrants to move to the US in search of a stronger economy. Families and neighborhoods moved together to protest the revolution by crossing the border, and this brought many Latinx Americans together through their similar hopes. The Mexican population in the US doubled in just a few years during the revolution [14].
In modern times, it wasn’t until the 2020’s that Asians started to truly understand the immense discrimination they faced. In the three and a half years since 2020, four in five Asians say that they still don’t feel that they belong in the States, and more than half of Asian-Americans say that they feel unsafe in the US [15]. This reflects the astonishing fear and isolation this community is enduring.
Only two major nationwide anti-hate groups for the Asian minority have been established, and only very recently. Stop AAPI Hate was founded in 2020 and The Asian American Foundation in 2021. As for Blacks, over 28 organizations have been founded in support of the Black Lives Matter movement [6]. The Anti-Defamation League supporting Jewish rights, has been present and growing since the 1950’s. Additionally, the Latino community has 11 large organizations supporting Hispanic rights [7]. This lack of organization by Asian-Americans is only increasing their vulnerability.
Thirdly, Asians in America are an extremely diverse group. Other groups are more homogeneous in history, culture, language and even religion. This adds greatly to the challenges of organizing and makes them more vulnerable to racism. There are almost 46 million Asians in the US today, and 24% of this population is Chinese, 21% Indian, 19% Filipino, 10% Vietnamese, 9% Korean, 7% Japanese, and 15% all others [8].
This extreme diversity negatively impacts the Asian community’s chances of fighting back and guarding against racism. The diversity has made it harder for all Asians to stand together instead of splitting up. Many African-Americans support each other and stand together as a race, whereas the Asian-Americans split up into groups defined by each person’s ethnicity. Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and other minorities have already come a long way. Yet, Asians are just getting started.
Looking ahead
From what we’ve learned, the arc of anti-racism progress for Asians is much shorter than for the other major minority groups facing discrimination in America. But on the other hand, there is a long historical arc of racism and hate faced by the community. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Asian-Americans faced extreme prejudice and abuse. However, since the recent COVID-19 pandemic, hate towards them has increased discrimination levels to the highest it’s been since the 1800s.
To improve the effectiveness of the anti-racism movement for Asian Americans, we need to actively listen to their community. We must recognize and understand Asians by combating stereotypes that marginalize their actions. As Confucius once said, “To make sacrifices to a ghost that is not one’s own is toadying.” He highlights the importance of authenticity and being nonjudgmental. All in all, addressing these shortcomings is crucial for ensuring that the anti-racism movement becomes inclusive for all Asian Americans.
Footnotes:
10. Ibid
12. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-united-states-and-the-refugee-crisis-1938-41
18. Ibid
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