Does a New Wave of Anti-Asian American Racism Require New Ways of Fighting Back?

Many Americans of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian heritage have thrived in the U.S. through perseverance, resilience, education, and upward mobility, despite waves of discrimination both overt and hidden. Now, COVID-19 has escalated xenophobia and anti-Asian prejudices—from references to “Kung Flu” or the “Chinese virus” to acts of violence across the country. What strategies and tools can help combat this new wave of racism and help prepare the nation for the next wave, which will also likely be triggered by a moment of fear or panic? Can we find inspiration for preventing anti-Asian violence and building a more inclusive culture from diverse communities within the U.S. and around the world? United States Senator Mazie Hirono, Chinese for Affirmative Action Executive Director Cynthia Choi, USC historian and Two Faces of Exclusion: The Untold History of Anti-Asian Racism author Lon Kurashige, and Karthick Ramakrishnan, political scientist and director of the UC Riverside Center for Social Innovation, visited Zócalo to contextualize pandemic-inspired racism and share new ways of fighting back against it. This event was moderated by Sewell Chan, editor of the editorial pages at the Los Angeles Times, and was presented in partnership with the Daniel K. Inouye Institute. Read more about our panelists here: https://zps.la/3cjL6OA For a full report on the live discussion, check out the Takeaway: https://zps.la/34BLTs5 Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Twitter: twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare