VIDEO: Watch organizers talk about how to fight back against anti-Asian hatred

We teamed up with two Asian American organizers to highlight the critical grassroots efforts taking place in Asian American and immigrant communities.

Dear MoveOn member,

Over the last year and a half, anti-Asian violence has spiked to record numbers across the United States, and Asian American organizers are meeting this violence with resilience—fighting back against hate by building the tools and infrastructure to empower Asian American communities.

We teamed up with two Asian American organizers—Lucky Ho (Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta) and Lai Wa Wu (Chinese Progressive Association)—to highlight the critical grassroots efforts taking place in Asian American and immigrant communities in different parts of the country in a clear, engaging, and informative video.

Click here, or on the thumbnail below, to watch our video! It's only three minutes long and presents a clear set of ideas on how to address this violence from organizers doing the work on the frontlines.

You probably remember the anti-Asian mass shooting in March, when a gunman opened fire on three massage parlors in the metro Atlanta area. He killed eight people, and six of those people were Asian women.

This attack shocked millions of people, awakening them to the real and present danger of anti-Asian violence. But the truth is that anti-Asian hate has always existed in American history. In fact, it has a deep context in American colonialism in the Pacific during the 19th and 20th centuries.¹ Anti-Asian violence is nothing new—and while the rates of violence have increased, the sentiment is unfortunately a familiar one for Asian Americans.

Critically, these Asian American organizers aren't calling for more police presence in Asian American communities. They know that simply increasing the number of police officers won't deter racist violence or lead to safer communities. In fact, they argue that it will just lead to the targeted harassment of immigrant and Black communities.

By enlisting alternatives to policing—such as wholesale investments in social resources, expanded economic opportunities, and increased antiracist education for Asian American and ally communities—we'll finally be able to confront the roots of the issues that enable white supremacist violence.

Click here to watch Lucky and Lai Wa's video on Facebook, and click here to watch it on Twitter—and be sure to share it with your friends and family, as well!

Thanks for all you do.

–Arvin, Evelyn, Bodhi, Lisa, and the rest of the team

P.S. Learn more about Lucky and Lai Wa's work by checking out the websites for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Chinese Progressive Association.

Source:

1. "From colonialism to Covid: Viet Thanh Nguyen on the rise of anti-Asian violence," The Guardian, April 3, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154576?t=13&akid=301520%2E53570607%2EEfIlYr

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