Leading AAPI Voices Shine Light on Discrimination and Violence

There has been an unnerving wave of violence against Asian Americans, and particularly seniors, in the wake of rampant misinformation about COVID-19. While some attacks on seniors have attracted news attention, daily incidents of harassment and intimidation continue in some of America’s biggest cities. With many seniors venturing out of their homes to shop for Lunar New Year, this is an increased time of vulnerability for many in our communities.

NBC News ran a special report on the disturbing rise in violence and how authorities are responding. Investigative and Consumer Correspondent Vicky Nguyen led the story and noted the massive increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans across the country. In San Francisco, there have been several attacks in recent months, including one that killed 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. In New York City, the NYPD reported that they typically only receive 2-3 hate crime reports per year — but that it jumped to 27 last year after COVID-19. On Tuesday, authorities announced the arrest of a suspect in three violent attacks in Oakland last month.

As Nguyen noted in her report, President Biden committed to taking strong action to stop harassment and violence against Asian Americans during APIAVote’s 2020 Presidential Town Hall. This platform helped elevate the AAPI community’s concerns about the already-rising levels of harassment last year. The AAPI Community is deeply grateful to Vicky for her timely and life-saving reporting.

Asian American leaders from across the country are also using their profiles to raise their voices to protect our communities and lead the search for more information. Actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu and 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen appeared on MSNBC’s “American Voices” with Alicia Menendez on Sunday afternoon to raise public awareness of these hate crimes.