By Harriet Lee '25
News articles headlining murders and brutal attacks against Asian Americans have become increasingly frequent, sparking a new sense of fear among the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an exponential increase in hate crimes against Asians. But there has been a long history of racism towards Asian Americans that has dated back to even before the COVID pandemic started. Unfortunately, many of these injustices have been swept under the rug, quickly forgotten by most. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, many news outlets have pieced together weak condolences and warnings for the community to stay safe, but what about the other 11 months out of the year?
Japanese incarceration is perhaps the most blatant example of racism against Asian Americans. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941, many Japanese Americans in the west coast were forced out of their homes and into concentration camps. Without evidence, “the U.S. War Department suspected that Japanese Americans might act as saboteurs or espionage agents”(Britannica). A government report from 1983 states that “...This [forced evacuation] was done despite the fact that not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity was committed by an American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by a resident Japanese alien on the West Coast.” There was absolutely no evidence to back up the decision to displace hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans. While there have been multiple lawsuits against the US for their shameful behavior towards Japanese Americans today, barely anyone discusses the forced relocation of Japanese Americans by the government in the past.
Going back even earlier, to the 19th century, AAPI discrimination was reflected through the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The aftermath of the Opium Wars had left China devastated, leading to a surge of Chinese people migrating to America in search of a better life. Almost immediately, Chinese people were faced with discrimination and prejudice. In May of 1852, a foreign miners tax was imposed by the state of California targeting the new immigrants. Then, in 1854, a Supreme Court Case ruled that along with African Americans and Native Americans, Chinese people could not testify in court. After years of these already discriminatory laws being in place, a ban on Chinese immigration was put in place. History seems to have forgotten these injustices, along with many others that are even more recent.
Michelle Go. This name may ring a bell for some, but leaves most staring blankly. Sadly, schools rarely educate students on current events, even on urgent topics that pertain to the safety of students. Michelle Go was a 40-year- old woman who was killed when she was pushed to the tracks of a subway station in January. Yet, at NEST, there was not a word about her gut-wrenching story, or caution for students who take the subway everyday. Many have pushed this incident aside, regarding it as a rare act of violence that should not be looked at too closely. But how many more of these “rare acts of violence” will occur before people realize that they are part of a bigger, vicious cycle.
From speaking with multiple Asian-American students at NEST, it is evident that the recent racially charged attacks impact their daily lives. One freshman commented that she felt unsafe after the height of the attacks, saying, “my parents didn’t want me to take the train by myself to school…it was a huge inconvenience to my family.” People constantly say that fears like these are irrational, but many live in terror for the day when a complete stranger will target them. Another freshman mentioned that strangers have even made racist comments to her, stating, “they just walk past me…and say ‘nihao’. They just assume you’re Chinese…and that’s honestly messed up.” Asian Americans have to deal with racially charged remarks on a daily basis from strangers, coworkers, and even friends. Discussions about this are often shied away from, and these issues go unnoticed. Even when these comments are brought up, people tend to dismiss them, and they are quickly forgotten.
Furthermore, South Asians are rarely brought into conversations surrounding issues facing the AAPI community. Sumaiya Sayeed ‘23 expressed that “usually South Asian people are excluded from a lot of conversations of race and [people] make a lot of stereotypical jokes that they see in children's shows.” The hit Disney Channel series Jessie had a prominent character, Ravi Ross, who is heavily stereotyped. He speaks with a fake thick accent and is known to be the smartest person in his friend group, further promoting the idea that all Asians are smart and retain their ethnic accent. Popular TV shows have started a flood of stereotypes that many children subconsciously carry throughout adolescence.
Ultimately, while some may think that strides are being taken against Asian racism, these ever present attacks and remarks bring us back to the reality that a lot of work still needs to be done. In order to eliminate the prejudice and violence of the present, we must reckon with our past.
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