Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have historically been the target of many racist attacks over the years. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited Chinese immigrants from entering the US. “Yellow Peril” was a fear-mongering term used in the 19th Century as a racist color-metaphor that represented the faceless, nameless people from the “other non-white, non-Western” cultures. The Rock Springs massacre of 1885 occurred in Sweetwater County, Wyoming when immigrant Chinese miners were attacked by white miners who perceived that the Chinese were stealing their jobs. Many still remember the shameful Japanese internment camps during World War II which was created out of fear of all Japanese Americans. Race riots in 1990’s in LA and the present-day fabricated fear of Asians who have been blamed for starting COVID-19 by powerful politicians pushing insensitive terms, such as “China virus” and “Kung-flu” in this country. The surge in hate crimes we see today is directly related to the politicization of the pandemic and state-sanctioned racist language used by some of the highest-ranking politicians in the land.
These are all sad reminders of past and continued rancor of Anti-Asian racism under the banner of “nationalism.”
The recent shootings in Atlanta and attacks on older Asians in California and New York; the boycott of Asian/Chinese restaurants during COVID-19 all point to xenophobia. Hate crimes against AAPIs are common and commonly under-reported – and, all too often not reported at all due to language barriers, and Asian Americans not wanting to be perceived as troublemakers. For many Asian Americans, reporting violence goes against the “model minority myth” which is used to treat Asians as a monolithic, mild-mannered community, further otherizing them and dividing minority communities.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected BIPOC and communities of color. Pacific Islanders rank third in COVID-19 deaths behind Native Americans and Black Americans. The racist and discriminatory acts and violence against AAPI communities has grown over 150% in the last year. Unemployment for Asian and Pacific Islanders increased to 450% between February and June of 2020. Many businesses owned by Asian Americans have closed during this last year, further crippling that community.
UW GME strongly condemns the racism and anti AAPI violence and stands in solidarity with our AAPI communities.
Reports can be made through the UW Medicine Bias Reporting Tool.
There are many ways to show our solidarity and speak out against this hateful rhetoric.
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Support Asian American businesses in our community http://seattlerefined.com/lifestyle/asian-owned-businesses-restaurants-in-seattle-area-you-can-support-right-now
- Take a Virtual bystander intervention training: www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
- Join in allyship with BIPOC and Asian groups like Asians4Blacklives
- Join in a supportive conversation where we can come together as a community and support each other
Dipti Chrastka, LMFT
Director, GME Wellness Service
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine