On March 24, 2020, the IFO issued a statement of solidarity with Asian American community members decrying the uptick in violence against people of Asian descent who were being scapegoated for the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Since that time, hate crimes against Asian Americans are up150%, with almost 3800 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to Stop Asian American Hate between March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Violence against Asian Americans has been escalating all year, culminating yesterday in the shocking mass murder targeting Asian Americans in Atlanta, where 8 were killed.
As an Asian American woman, I am very familiar with the dangers of walking around in my body, with my skin. I’ve been catcalled and harassed all over this state and subjected to countless racist remarks on campuses and in other professional settings. In Moorhead, I was once run off the road by a motorist while biking to campus to teach. But being Asian in America during COVID has been especially difficult. Last March, my doctor advised me to take the highest possible measures to protect myself from COVID-19 because of my underlying health conditions, precautions that eventually became all too familiar: mask up, wear gloves/ wash hands, avoid public outings, social distance in small groups only if absolutely necessary. But this was months before mask mandates became commonplace, and I told her I felt my risk of contracting COVID was less of a health threat than appearing in public as an Asian American woman wearing a facemask at a time when we were being blamed for the pandemic by the President of the United States and millions of other Americans who followed him. By September of last year, the death rate from COVID-19 for Asian Minnesotans was disproportionately high, similar in ratio to the heightened COVID death rate for Black Minnesotans. My point is, anti-Asian racism is a real problem at both the structural and individual levels, not just on the coasts, or in bigger cities, or somewhere over there, but right here, and it has been for decades.
The IFO calls for solidarity with the Asian American members of our union, our communities, and our country and for recognition of racist discrimination towards Asian Americans. Stand up against racism in your capacity as faculty, coaches, and counselors and fight the invisibility and minimization Asian Americans often suffer when reporting instances of anti-Asian discrimination. We encourage you to engage your students in combating hate directed at Asian Americans using the many resources that have been developed in the last year, including Yellow Peril Teach-In Resources.
If you are interested in learning more, the Minnesota-based Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) is also hosting A Community Conversation on Anti-Asian Racism and Violence on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. We encourage you to join this virtual event to hear directly from leaders and community members about what has been occurring in Minnesota and nationwide, hear from victims of racist violence, and work together to take action against anti-Asian hate.
In solidarity,
Kim Park Nelson - IFO Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
Brent Jeffers - IFO President