Resources for Fighting Anti-Asian Racism & Rhetoric

The Coalition celebrates the fact that, on May 18th, Congress passed the “COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act,” legislation that responds to the significant increase in violence against Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) populations in the US since the beginning of the pandemic. The bill cleared the Senate nearly unanimously last month and now heads to the President’s desk for final signature.

The moves by our federal government to address violence and hate crimes against AAAPI people are urgently needed, but so too are the efforts of teachers, scholars, and activists seeking to change the stereotypical and dehumanizing narratives that enable anti-Asian racism. With the urgency of this work in mind, the Coalition hosted “Witnessing Anti-Asian Racism and Rhetoric: A Speaking and Listening Forum” via Zoom on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Co-facilitated by Jennifer Sano-Franchini, Bo Wang, and Wendy Sharer, the forum invited attendees to share their experiences of Anti-Asian racism and rhetoric and their ideas and strategies for confronting this racism and rhetoric.

We know that many people were unable to attend the event, so we are pleased to share compiled suggestions from the session on the Coalition website. Please visit https://cfshrc.org and scroll down to the “Resources” section to find the “Fighting Anti-Asian Racism & Rhetoric” link, which will take you to lists of publications, organizations, and multi-media resources dedicated to identifying and eradicating anti-Asian racism. You will also find action ideas, compiled from the May 5th session, for individuals, scholars, teachers, and professional organizations.

Please check out these resources and help us to make them even more robust! We encourage you to share your suggestions for additions with Wendy Sharer, President CFSHRC, at president@cfshrc.org.