Taunted at Starbucks

My mother and I are Korean Americans, we were traveling in Florida for business so we stopped in a Starbucks and while we were waiting for our order a group of 4 people at a table started staring at us with very disgusted looks, two of them pulled up their shirts to cover their mouths. They as a group then proceeded to point, laugh and taunt my mother and I, they even mentioned the “coronavirus is here.” My mother and I are not confrontational people so we stood there and avoided eye contact until our drink was served and immediately left. I was left shocked and somehow felt disgusted with myself because I was viewed as inferior simply based on my looks. I sometimes get anxiety before going out for that reason.

When Xenophobia Spreads Like A Virus

NPR’s Code Switch did an episode on anti-Asian discrimination related to coronavirus. The episode features Professor Erika Lee, and she talks about the history of xenophobia in the United States.

Racism at a Chinese American Festival

I was in a car, two people were walking past about 30 feet away, one of them, the woman, mimicked a stereotype face directed at me when she saw me; she put her front upper teeth over her lower lips to imitate bucked teeth. I have experienced racism in SF, CA in the past however this particular type has never happened to me. I knew exactly what she was trying to do, make fun of me and Chinese people in a way she knew how. This racism occurred last month while I was attending a Chinese American Festival in Marysville, California, a gold rush town and one of the oldest Chinatown's in California, on a day Chinese Americans were streaming in for the festival. What this situation told me whether blatant or in this case, a surreptitious gesture because there were no other people near me, racism is alive and has been elevated to socially acceptable. You think there is strength in numbers and security in urban areas in the Country but contrary to legislation recently enacted to make bullying illegal, Trump and his administration have made it acceptable to harass and inflict violence on folks who look different, again, like other American administrations succeeded in doing over the past 150 years of America's relatively short existence. I am angry and don't have the tools to respond to or combat vulgar uncouth behavior in our society. What do we do?

University of Albany students' Coronavirus-themed party sparks outrage

From ABC 7:

Some students at the state University at Albany hosted a coronavirus-themed party off campus last weekend and are being investigated for violating the college's student code of conduct. According to WGY News Radio, a video was posted on the Instagram account Barstool Albany in which a bucket of iced Corona beers and a person wearing a surgical mask with the caption, "Corona virus isn't gonna stop anyone from partying", can be seen. University officials stated that "the theme of this parrty was distasteful and hurtful and is not representative of UAlbany or its nearly 18,00 students." Asian American Alliance, a university student organization, has also condemned the party for its insensitivity and racism.

ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE STATEMENT ON DISCRIMINATION AND THE CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC

Washington, DC - Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a group of five civil rights organizations issued the following statement and call to action about the coronavirus:

We are disappointed and disturbed by the discriminatory sentiment aimed at Asian Americans in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic in Asia. In order to prevent xenophobia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice calls on the media to be conscious of how they frame stories around the coronavirus and for social media platforms to dispel the spread of misinformation. We also urge the public to refrain from targeting Asian Americans. Common sense needs to prevail where people understand and focus on the facts of the virus.

No amount of fear can excuse prejudice and discrimination against Asian Americans. Throughout history, Asian Americans have been wrongly targeted due to mass hysteria, from the use of the racist term “Yellow Peril” to refer to East Asians as a danger to Western civilization to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Every Asian American has the right to go to school, work, and other public places without being subjected to racial discrimination. 

We encourage individuals who have experienced a hate incident or other racist actions tied to the coronavirus outbreak to report it to StandAgainstHatred.org.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice | Chicago.

Coronavirus: Local boy bullied, attacked, targeted just because he's Asian, officials say

From ABC 7:

According to Manjusha Kulkarni, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and Robin Toma, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, a middle school boy from the San Fernando Valley has been bullied, physically attacked, and sent to the emergency room because his assailants believed he had the coronavirus. Unfortunately, the young child has been one of many victims of hate crimes as the recent coronavirus scare, combined with people's pre-existing prejudices, has led to a rise in hostility against Asians and Asian Americans.

Attacks at school

I was walking to class when [four guys] ran up to me and yelled "China Whore!" They threw papers a notebook and and wrappers at me. They pushed me to the ground and yelled "Coronavirus! Coronavirus! Don't get too close to it, you'll catch it!" Then they slammed my head into a locker and ran off.

Coronavirus hate attack: Woman in face mask allegedly assaulted by man who calls her 'diseased'

Via David K. Li, NBC News:

A Twitter video posted on February 4, 2020 by @TonyySays shows a woman being assaulted in a New York City subway. The woman wore a face mask at the time, which apparently provoked the man's kicking, punching, and verbal abuse; a witness overheard the man call the woman a "diseased b----", alluding to recent coronavirus concerns. Although the NYPD reports the date and location of the attack is unclear, Deputy Chief of Staff Marian Guerra believes the attack happened in Chinatown, as many of her district constituents have been unfairly perceived as carriers of the coronavirus. The New York City Police Department's hate crimes unit is seeking help from the public to identify the assailant.

Company Apologizes After Family Alleges Racial Stereotyping at Costco

Via Natalie Swaby, King 5 News:

Late January 2020, an Eastside family wore surgical masks while shopping at Costco because they were concerned about the coronavirus. When the family approached a person offering samples, the worker asked "if they came from China" and told them to "step away" from her, denying them service. Club Demonstration Service (the woman's employer), as well as Costco have since extended apologies to the family in regards to the prejudiced incident.

Sikh Uber Driver Strangled in Hate Crime Attack

From Angry Asian Man:

Early December 2019, an Uber driver called 911 to report he had been choked by passenger Grifin Levi Sayers. Sayers made racially based comments about the victim's dark skin color, his Indian origin, and his turban during the alleged attack. Because of Sayer's identification of the driver's race, national origin, and religion, the assault was investigated as a "bias incident". However, Sikh Coalition Leagal Director Amrith Kaur states that the incident is "verly clearly a hate crime under the defintino of the law" and expressed hope that the prosecuting attourney's offie would appropriate charge Sayers with a hate crime offense.

Racist incidents at Syracuse University

Over a period of two weeks in November, racist graffiti targeting Asians, African Americans, and Jewish people was found on or near Syracuse University.

Students have been taking action by hosting sit-ins and a movement they call #NotAgainSU.

Read more for a timeline of incidents.

Brutal Attack on Chinatown Seniors Caught on Video

From Angry Asian Man:

Early November 2019, two suspects assaulted a group of men in their 60s. The suspects approached the group, who was walking in San Francisco's Chinatown around 9:00 pm, before punching the men in attempted robbery. Three men were hurt during the attack, two of whom suffered non-life-threatening injuries. It is unknown whether the crime was racially motivated, although the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the violent beating of these elderly men sparked fear and outrage among the city's Chinese-American community, who feels they are increasingly targeted. The two suspects remain at large.

"Go back"

In a series of tweets in July, President Trump told four women of color currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives to ““go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” All four are U.S. citizens. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, which she now represents. Her family is Puerto Rican. Representative Rashida Tlaib was born in and represents Detroit. She is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. Representative Ayanna Pressley was born in Cincinnati, raised in Chicago, and now lives in and represents Boston. Representative Ilhan Omar fled Somalia with her family when she was a child. They received asylum in the US. She became a US citizen in 2000 and represents Minneapolis. Immigrants are familiar with such attacks, which are leveled at us to express that we don’t belong, that we are not and perhaps cannot ever be accepted as fully American. We never expected that such racist and xenophobic statements would be expressed by the President of the United States. Read more.

"GO HOME!"

My Asian American friends and I were walking to a museum when an older white man came up to us and said, “China, China, what are you doing in America? GO HOME.”

"I hate Asians"

I was at a Boston Celtics game with a friend up in the balcony. As the game went on, my friend and I, who are Vietnamese American and Chinese American, noticed that someone kept yelling in our direction. We did not think much of it until it got much louder. Turns out it was a young white man who appeared to be drunk and was very focused on us. He screamed out things like “I hate Asians” and “go back to your country” and that he wanted to throw us off the balcony. I called security and they came and escorted the guy out. I couldn’t help but notice that he had friends with him. They tried to get him to stop, warning him that he’d get kicked out. Despite that, I’m still frustrated that they – and the other people around us – did not call him out for being racist