THE RISE OF ASIAN-AMERICAN HATE CRIMES AND COVID-19

HISTORY OF ASIAN-AMERICAN DISCRIMINATION

While Asian Americans represent a wide range of national origins and cultures, they have often been grouped together by white Americans and discriminated on the basis solely of their appearance. The first Asian immigrants to the United States arrived in the middle of the 19th century, largely single men from China, who were recruited to work in a variety of industries on the West Coast of the United States. These immigrants worked in gold mines during the California Gold Rush, worked as farmers and factory workers, and played a significant role in the building of the transcontinental railroad. By 1870, Chinese workers made up 20% of the labor force in California.

Chinese immigrants were subjected to prejudice and violence, and the conditions they endured deteriorated significantly after the economic crisis of 1876. Similar to the anti-immigrant rhetoric of today, Chinese workers in the 19th century were accused of taking jobs away from native-born Americans. The agitation against the Chinese led to Congress passing the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned any further immigration from China simply on the basis of the race of the people arriving in the United States. Excluding immigrants from China, however, led to a new wave of immigration, as workers arrived from Japan, Korea, and India. Although the United States did not pass the next specifically banning immigrants from Japan, the United States in 1907 reached an agreement with the government of Japan to restrict the outflow of immigrants from Japan. Indian immigration was formally restricted in 1917 when Congress included India within its list of Asian countries from which immigrants would not be accepted into the United States.

During World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed orders to intern not only Japanese citizens lawfully residing within the United States but also American citizens of Japanese origin. Law-abiding Japanese immigrants were essentially imprisoned for the duration of the war, and only decades later was Congress willing to admit and apologize for the inhumanity of its actions.

After 1965, Asian immigration resumed, with a significant growth in the Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Filipino populations within the United States. The number of Asian Americans also increased after the American defeat in the Vietnam War, with approximately 1 million SE. Asians moving to the United States. 

While Asians suffered continual violence at the hands of white Americans in the 19th and early 20th century and exclusion for many areas of American life, they have also suffered direct attacks from American governmental institutions, being targeted for exclusion and even interned.

More recently Asian Americans have faced discrimination, particularly in the form of stereotyping. For many, Asian Americans represent a “model minority,” characterized by overachievement and incessant hard work. Research shows that 99% of Asian American adolescents have experienced being stereotyped. Even though the stereotype involves positive characteristics, it includes the assumption that all Asian Americans share common characteristics. This denial of individuality has a serious and disturbing effect on all levels of Asian American society.

The coronavirus outbreak, which began in China, sparked a wave of racist assaults on Asian Americans throughout the United States. A Chinese-American doctor in Boston, for example, reported a stranger yelling at her, “why are you Chinese people killing everyone?” Asian Americans were also experiencing a sharp increase in physical attacks in addition to verbal abuse. The FBI has warned of a potential surgeon hate crime that targets Asian Americans as lockdown restrictions are lifted. One website has already reported more than 1,800 instances of attacks, ranging from being stabbed while shopping to being spat upon. In addition to popular attacks, the President has continually referred to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” and officials have openly spoken of the “Kung-flu” in front of reporters. Asian healthcare workers, often risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients, are frequently victims of racist attacks.

The attacks experienced by Asian Americans since the arrival of the coronavirus are not isolated events but rather part of a long history of racism. We need to act now to protect our Asian American communities.