On Tuesday night, eight people were found dead at three different spas throughout the Atlanta area. Of those who died, six of them were women of Asian descent, and two were white. While police state that it is too soon to declare a motive, the attack took place in a year that has seen increased attacks towards Asian Americans.
Last March, Stop AAPI Hate was formed to prevent discrimination during the coronavirus pandemic. The group collects data on hate and harassment incidents against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The group released a report on Tuesday, documenting their collection of 3,795 incidents between March 19 and February 28. However, because not all incidents are reported the number could be much higher.
Analysis released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, at California State University, San Bernardino reported this month a nearly 150% increase in hate crimes targeting Asian people.
On Wednesday, Athletes and people in sports used their platform to call attention to the rise in Asian hate crimes.
Younghoe Koo
Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo who was born in South Korea wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he was “deeply saddened” by Tuesday’s events. In his post he also shared some of his own experiences with racism.
“I am deeply saddened by the events that took place in Atlanta yesterday and although there is no definitive answer yet on what this investigation will bring, I feel now is the time to address the rise in hate crimes against ALL races over the last few years.
As an Asian American, I have heard the jokes and name calling. I often dealt with it by ignoring what was said and minding my own business. I don’t have all the answers, but I realize now more than ever that this is an issue that needs to be addressed and that ignoring it won’t help us do that. I know this one post won’t solve the problem, but I hope to help raise awareness on hate crimes against all. #stophate”
Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin has been vocal since 2017, on experiences where racial slurs have been used towards him on the basketball court in his years playing at Harvard.
In February of this year Lin also spoke out about being called a “coronavirus” by an opposing team player in a game in the G-League. In a Facebook Post, Lin drew attention to the growing hate crimes towards the Asian community in the last year saying, “We are tired of being told that we don’t experience racism, we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble… I want better for my elders who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make a life for themselves here.”
On March 11th, on his social media Jeremy Lin shared a video that he voices the pain and speaks up for change.
Less than a week later, the horrific attacks in Atlanta occurred, and Lin tweeted:
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One year ago this month on The Dan LeBatard Show with Stu Gotz, Pablo Torre and Mina Kimes joined to talk about the terrifying increase in violence directed towards Asian-Americans since the pandemic began a few weeks prior. A reality that unfortunately has only gotten worse a year later.
After the attacks on Tuesday, both Pablo and Mina got to speak on ESPN’s Around The Horn.
For a long time as mentioned in the video above Asian American’s have felt unsafe, and afraid to say such publicly. On Wednesday, many voices in sports and outside of sports voiced their fears, pains, and experiences. As well as a call to #StopAsianHate. Now is the time for people to listen and act, and I hope that we do.
Learn more about the organizations supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/
Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund: https://www.aaldef.org/
Center For Asian American Media: https://caamedia.org/
#StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate
