Stand Up to #StopAAPIHate

Throughout AANHPI Heritage Month, we’ve shared stories and research highlighting the rich history of this community. To round out our May series, we’re sharing insights from the #StopAAPIHate and ways that you can support this global movement beyond a single day, week, or month of the year. 

Educational equity is about ensuring every student has the support, resources, and opportunities to succeed and thrive as their full selves. When racist mindsets permeate our culture, they inevitably bleed into our classrooms and systems of policy and education. 

Since 2020 and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, racially motivated attacks on members of the AANHPI community have steadily risen. According to a recent report from Stop AAPI Hate, Two Years and Thousands of Voices¹, there were nearly 11,500 hate incidents reported between March 2020 and March 2022. These numbers come solely from Stop AAPI Hate’s community survey.  

According to the 2022 STAATUS Index Report, 3 out of 4 Asian Americans worry about discrimination since the COVID-19 pandemic and the wave of racist language deployed by the Trump Administration.  

In January 2023, the White House released its National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Communities² to expand the administration's broader equity agenda and combat rising anti-AAPI hate nationwide. 

This is an ongoing effort dating back to spring 2021, which has led to the release of action plans prepared by 32 federal agencies. 

But this is only the beginning. The gap between public policy and lived experience can be wide and have grave implications for marginalized and vulnerable communities. 

Change starts with all of us. When we collectively choose to stand up for equitable change, advocate for one another, and engage in acts of civic leadership that transcend party lines, we can begin to dismantle damaging societal mindsets that further jeopardize the health and safety of marginalized people. 

At LEE, we believe in the power of people to charter new paths and brighter futures for our communities. This month especially, as we reflect on the AAPI community, their contributions nationwide, and the potential for deepening AAPI safety, inclusion, and equity, we hope you take time to do the same and make a plan for future action. 

Explore self-education resources, read AAPI authors, and share their stories with your community and your loved ones. No act is too small, if you make it count:

³Self Education:

• 31 Stories for 31 Days
• PBS Documentary Collections of Asian Americans
• Hawaiian Queens
• How to Understand Chinese Characters TEDx Talk
• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Japanese American visit Manzanar Internment Camp

Books by AAPI Authors:*

• Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (Chinese author, memoir) 
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Korean American author and musician)
• Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou (Taiwanese American author)
• Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob (Indian author, graphic memoir) 
• How to Pronounce Knife: Stories by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Laotian, short stories, fiction) 
• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Taiwanese American author)
• Skinship by Yoon Choi (Korean author, short stories, fiction)
• The Latinos of Asia by Anthony Christian Ocampo (Filipino American author and professor)
• Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese American author and poet)

*Requesting books from your local library can be just as impactful on an author’s career and readership as purchasing the book from your local indie bookseller!

⁴Take Action, Fuel the Movement:

• Resources for Reporting Hate Incidents
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association | Hate crime resources
  • stopaapihate.org | Donate, report, and educate
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Report incidents and donate
• Where to Donate:
  • Support AAPI Candidates 
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice
  • Chinese for Affirmative Action
  • Asian Americans for Equality
  • Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Asian American Advocacy Fund
  • Asian Mental Health Collective
  • National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
  • Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
  • Stop AAPI Hate

---

Sources
¹https://stopaapihate.org/year-2-report/
²https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/17/...
³https://www.aacrao.org/resources/newsletters-blogs/aacrao-connect/articl...
⁴https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-the-aapi-community/