日志
To combat anti-Asian hate, teach its roots
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The pandemic began in 2020 with an outburst of anti-Chinese racism from the former president, which helped to lay the kindling for where we find ourselves today.
Chinatown in New York City, as well as Chinese-American communities throughout the country, bore the brunt of pandemic-related closures. Restaurants, small business owners and service organizations are still struggling to recover. As Chinese-American and Asian-American communities across the nation celebrate the Lunar New Year, the hope for happiness is shrouded in fear, discrimination and inequity.
There has always been an undercurrent of prejudice toward Asians and Asian-Americans in some corners of New York City and in America, but the pandemic has created a petri dish where such hatred can grow and fester. At a time when this hatred is resurgent, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) extended its exhibit, “Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism,” to help educate visitors and allow healing space. The exhibit focuses on the historical roots of anti-Asian and anti-Asian-American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) racism from the early days of an anti-Chinese exclusionary society to the rise of anti-AAPI racism and violence today. Organizations like MOCA were founded to combat such attitudes, but we clearly have more work to do.
Yao Pan Ma, a Chinese immigrant and New Yorker, was beaten so badly last April that he never woke up; he died last month. Michelle Go was pushed in front of a subway in Times Square just days later. I was born and raised commuting on the subways of New York City, yet I am terrified to use mass transit following those recent crimes against people who look like me.
In December, NYPD reported that more than 129 anti-Asian hate crimes occurred during 2021, a 356 percent increase from 28 percent in 2020. Nearly 10,370 hate incidents occurred nationwide between March 2020 and June 2021, according to the national coalition Stop AAPI Hate.
Protests throughout the city have created a voice around current issues, but do not seed real change. Our elected leaders can fight anti-AAPI hate at the core with a simple commitment: bring AAPI history — an American story — to the public school system. The Legislature should move quickly to pass state Sen. John Liu’s bill to mandate instruction about the history and impact of our people in public schools across the state.
Much of anti-AAPI hate is rooted in decades of discrimination toward Chinese in America. Yet the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the impact it had on not only Chinese-Americans but American society is hardly known. The first Chinese immigrants came to America in the 1850s, first to the West Coast and then settling in the 1870s in the Manhattan neighborhood that would become Chinatown. They left a mark on the city that can still be seen today and will be visible for centuries to come.
The phrase “Asian-American” was coined by historian Yuji Ichioka in response to the desire for a strategic voice in the 1960s during the civil rights movement and after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It served the Asian-American community well as it combined diverse populations to advocate with one voice for improved services, additional rights and heightened acknowledgment of contributions. Yet while collective power allows for a greater voice, AAPI culture in the United States is far from a monolith, with Chinese-American culture alone comprising one of the country’s most diverse ethnic groups.
The lack of history regarding AAPI in our textbooks has wreaked havoc on our communities. The AAPI community has seen how the lack of inclusion impacts not only their domestic issues but their safety and well-being. Whether it is the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the attacks on Muslims in America after 9/11 or more recently, according to the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition, more than 10,000 acts of hate against spurred on by misinformation surrounding the pandemic — our classrooms have not created space for these important and complex elements of U.S. history.
Leaders like Liu and Mayor Adams celebrate the diversity of New York. They know that our stories are integral parts of our collective history. When a deadly fire broke out last month in a Gambian-American community in the Bronx, Adams called out the hurt of that community and invited the Gambian ambassador to mourn with him and the rest of the city.
Despite the tragedy, by calling the community by name, Adams gave room for a piece of the city’s mosaic to shine brighter. It starts in our classrooms. We must all do our part to create more space for a more diverse and inclusive American narrative. We must make this education accessible if we hope for respect and acceptance to stop hate crimes.
Yao Maasbach is president of the Museum of Chinese in America.
