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Anti-Asianracismand COVID-19

Anti-Asianracismand COVID-19

(revised July 16, 2020)

Jennifer Hoisprofessor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Humanities & the Artsat the University of ColoradoBoulder, and president of the.

This outline of anti-Asianracism is adapted from aslide deck that was developed to help educate people about anti-Asian racism that has emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. I have focused on racism in the US, but anti-Asian racism is a global phenomenon. Feel free to share widely and to add your own slides. Click here to download the slide deck in pdf form.

RacismDefined

  • Racism is a system where one racial group dominates/has power over others—the site
  • Racism is institutional – it is power plus prejudice
  • Racism is not the same as talking about race
  • Racism in the U.S. has taken the form of
    • and the enslavement of people from African nations
    • and colonization
    • The World WarII
    • Targeting
    • Housing, Marriage, Educational discrimination whereby,areand

Anti-AsianRacism:Averybriefhistory

  • Anti-Asian racism has existed from the time the first wave of Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. in the 19th centuryfirstand then when they were recruited to build the
  • Chinese were vilified and demonized in the U.S.,(rats) and engaging in pagan religious practices (Confucianism). Generally, often because they were forced to live in overcrowded quarters (what became Chinatowns in industrial/poor neighborhoods), whereand proper hygiene unobtainable
  • Anti-Chinese sentiment grew in the U.S. in the 19th centurywith accusations that

YellowPeril

  • Anti-Chinese sentiment became part of the Yellow Peril language
  • refers to a general fear, mistrust, and hatred of, first, Chinese in the U.S., and then these negative sentiments were transferred to other Asian-ethnic immigrant groups: Japanese, Koreanand Indian
  • sentiment fueled many anti-Asian U.S. initiatives, such as the,theGentleman’sAgreement,and theCableAct
  • The most important thing to note is thatreduces Asians to always being foreign, never considered American

AsiansbecomingAmericans

  • Historically anti-Chinese sentiment became anti-Asian racism once the ethnic particularities of being Chinese in the U.S. were flattened into the racial category of“Oriental” (past) now, ASIAN
  • [Note:it is akin to calling African Americans ”Negro”—Dz’t do it]
  • Asians in the U.S. eventually becameAsian Americans,officiallybut also culturally and socially as the U.S. became more accepting of non-European people being considered American
  • However, a sizable number of people in the U.S. still regardrather than as U.S. citizens—which contributes to anti-Asian racism

VincentChin&9/11backlash

  • Two instances that show how Asian Americans continue to be seen as “foreign” rather than as U.S. citizens and fully American:
  • —a Chinese American engineer who was brutally murdered by two white men who accused him of stealing their jobs during the Detroit auto industry slump
  • —many of the people in the aforementioned groups have describedthat have led to fear, stigmatizationand

Whysaying“C󾱲Ավܲ”isracist

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has been clear in explainingThey wantwhen diseases have been affiliated with geographic regions or ethnicities
  • Though the virus may have first originated in Wuhan, China, it has become a global pandemic. And as the WHO andhave noted, to mis-name the virus and call it by its point of origin
  • Whenand private citizens insist on calling it “C󾱲Ա վܲ” because the 1918 flu pandemic was referred to as the “Spanish Flu,” this reinforces the problem with using “C󾱲Ա վܲ” sinceso the logic does not hold up
  • And when people sayto say that the virus originated in China, that would be true if we lived in a world in which systemic racism were not still an issue anddid not still persist.
  • Using the phrase “C󾱲Ա վܲ”to blame a country and people who others continue to associate with disease and filth and where

IncidentsofAnti-Asianharassment/racism

  • Since the spread of COVID-19,and, has been on the rise
  • In the U.S.,haveresulted in the following:
    • Asian Americans areof,and
    • Thehas created afor people to report
    • have created
    • are reporting onconnected

    AAASStatementaboutanti-AsianharassmentandCOVID-19

    releasedearlyMarch2020

    TheCenters for Disease Controlrecently announced that the Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 may spread in the United States. As people take precautions to manage their health (the two biggest precautions are), the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) wants to also acknowledge thethat many Asian Americans (particularly those who look East Asian) are experiencing. As an organization dedicated to the study of Asian Americans, we want to be very clear that xenophobia has no place in our communities or workplaces and that harassment of Asians due to fears of the coronavirus are not only unwarranted but sadly part of a. We stand firm in rejecting anti-Asian bigotry in the guise of people expressing fear of Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19. We also urge people to find resources that willeducate them about how to manage their healthas well as why their prejudices/biases in assuming all Asians have the virus are rooted in a, xenophobia, ableism, and anti-Asian racism. Please encourage your colleagues and friends to explorethat addresses anti-Asian bias associated with the coronavirus. And pleaseremember:frequent handwashing, not anti-Asian stereotypes/harassment, is your best means of preventing the spread of coronavirus.

    Anti-Black Racism & Black Lives Matter

    • On May 25, 2020, a Black American, died at the hands of White police officer, Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. The video recorded bywas viewed around the world and set off a wave of US national and, police brutality, and systemic racism -- where people declared that.
    • Floyd is only one of several thousands (millions) of Black people to die at the hands of White law enforcement/White vigilantes over the last few weeks/months/years/centuries.,,, andare others recently killed by anti-Black racism.
    • ; what seems new-ishis the attention people are paying in the midst of COVID-19—the ongoing global protests and demands forand.

    Anti-Black/Anti-Asian Racism &White Supremacy

    • The current rise of-- the ferocity/violence is a resurgence of anti-Asian racism that emerges when the US is under “threat” (ex: WWII, Cold War, Viet Nam, 9/11)
    • Anti-Asian racism is is not the same as; however, what both forms of racism share are
    • They are both subject to and are in service of
    • They are both systemic – it’s not about individual people being racist – it’s about the systems and institutions in the US that create conditions where Asians are seen as foreign and Black people are not granted basic humanity and rights.
    • If you are learning aboutfor the first time, and especially if you identify as, then you must recognize the ways in which being against anti-Asian racism means

    AAAS Solidarity Statement

    June 2020

    The(AAAS) unites in solidarity with our Black family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and co-workers to call for an immediate end to anti-Black racism and the killing of Black people. We are an organization committed to social justice, intersectional analysis, and global human rights. Our fight against anti-Asian pandemic racism is rooted in a common struggle against White supremacy. The recent murders ofAhmaudArbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and George Floyd propel us to state, clearly and definitively, that Black lives matter and that we must abolish the militarized police state in which anti-Black racism is embedded. To end global anti-Black racism, we must fight racism in our local communities and educate ourselves and others about the rich history of Black Americans and support, validate, and value Black lives now and always.

    TheAssociation for Asian American StudiesBoard of Directors

    Howtobeananti-racistally

    • Anyone can be anyou simply need toand promote and
    • The first step isabout the– and thisis on-going and
    • The next step is practicingin your communities – Dz’t just be a bystander, speak out. Remember:
    • How you can address anti-Asian racism NOW is toand explain how it is connected to a
    • You can, for example, share this presentation with them and encourage people to report anti-Asian harassment
    • You can attend a

    Further reading

    • Anderson, Carol.White Rage: the Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. Bloomsbury 2016.
    • Hsu, Madeline..2nded. Oxford University Press, 2016.
    • Kendi,IbramX.How to Be an Anti-Racist. Penguin 2019.
    • Lee, Erika.The Making of Asian America: A History. Simon & Schuster 2015.
    • Lopez, Ian Haney.. 10thAnniversary edition. NYU Press 2006.
    • Maeda, Daryl.Chains of Babylon: the Rise of Asian America. University of Minnesota Press 2009.
    • Ngai, Mae.. Princeton University Press 2014.
    • Omi, Michael and Howard Winant.. Routledge 2014.