Solidarity with the Asian Pacific Islander Community

Racism against Asian Pacific Islanders in America is not new. But it has increased substantially this past year. Discrimination and xenophobia against the Asian community, especially the elderly and women, has spiked since the start of the pandemic.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, over 2,500 incidents have been reported, however, many more go unreported as victims are unable to provide evidence that would lead to an arrest and fear their perpetrator would return for retribution.

Just a couple weeks ago, an 84-year-old Thai resident died two days after he was attacked in broad daylight in San Francisco. Around the same time, three elderly people of various Asian descent (91-year-old, 60-year-old, and 55-year-old) were assaulted near Oakland’s Chinatown district. These are just a couple recent examples of anti-Asian sentiment that has escalated due to some of the racist rhetoric in regards to COVID-19 and China.   

This has especially been distressing as February is typically a month of celebration for the API community. Lunar New Year represents one of the largest holidays bringing friends and family together. With the pandemic restricting the traditional gatherings, it’s already hard for the community to stay connected, and the spike in attacks has put a damper on an otherwise joyous time. 

So, although it’s typically a time of celebration, we want to raise awareness of these injustices and to show support and solidarity for our Asian community through allyship.

The Mindshare Collective and GroupM have compiled some resources below, with everything from a guide to bystander intervention (to help alleviate the spread of harassment against the Asian community), to nonprofit civil rights organizations, and more.

• Guide to Bystander Intervention
• Asian American Advancing Justice
• Stop AAPI Hate
• Self-Care Tips for Asian Americans Dealing with Racism Amid Coronavirus 
• Brief History of Anti-Asian Sentiments in the US 

Written by Shayla Nguyen, Sasha Shimazi and Cynthia Panganiban