It has been over a month since 21-year-old white American Robert Aaron Long shot dead eight people at three massage parlours in Cherokee County and Atlanta city on March 16, 2021. Six of them were women of Asian descent but despite Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms stating that the mass shooting should be seen as a hate crime, Long has not been charged with this yet.
The Atlanta incident brought world attention to the xenophobic attacks Asians in America have been facing, both verbal and physical, ever since the coronavirus pandemic started. Studies have indicated that attacks on Asians were significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019, aggravated by the repeated use of “China virus” and “Kung Flu” by former US President Donald Trump and his right-wing supporters.
Thousands of people have even taken to the streets across the US to protest such attacks. While the support has continuously been pouring in for the community, attacks on Asians haven’t stopped in America. On March 29, a 65-year-old lady was brutally assaulted by a man in front of a luxury apartment building in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City’s Manhattan borough. Police have arrested and charged the man. But what makes the incident heart-breaking is that a video appears to show that some of the staff members inside the building not only watched the assault and didn’t intervene, one of them even closed the door while the woman was being hit repeatedly. Two of the staffers, doormen, have been fired after an investigation by the building’s owner The Brodsky Organization.
It is condemnable that members of the broader Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community are being targeted, especially the older people. The situation seems to only be worsening and the conversation in support of the AAPI community must continue — not only in the US but in other countries as well.
Along with the people protesting and supporting Asians, there are many celebrities, influencers, sportspersons, fashion designers among others who have also condemned these attacks and extended support to the AAPI community. Through social media as well as traditional media, through street marches and support to Asian businesses — they are helping spread awareness about the community as a whole and counter the mindless cycle of violence against them.
Here are some of the many famous people who have been raising their voice and demand that the end of this hatred.
Daniel Dae Kim
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The bill had failed to pass last year. Expressing his disappointment that “164 members of Congress, all Republican voted against it”, Kim said he is back urging lawmakers to pass it because “the situation has gotten worse, much worse”. He reminded the committee that Asians are the fastest-growing racial demography in America and thus they cannot be regarded as “statistically insignificant” for long.
When three people, including a 91-year-old man, were attacked in Oakland’s Chinatown on the same day earlier this year, Kim joined actor Daniel Wu to announce a reward of US$25,000 for providing information about the perpetrator. Speaking to Vulture, he said that he was really upset with the rise in the number of attacks on Asians in America and felt that the stakes had to be raised because whatever was being done to spread awareness was not enough.
The nonagenarian victim was later identified by the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce as a Latino named Gilbert Diaz. The other two were identified as Linh Huynh and Ken Wong. The attacker was arrested by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
Gemma Chan
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Following the Oakland attack, Chan joined other Asian Americans in condemning the incident. “The community is in pain from these completely unprovoked attacks but the crimes are too often ignored and underreported. Imagine if this was your father or grandfather?” she said in a social media post.
Rihanna Against Asian Hate
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She appeared incognito on the streets with her assistant Tina Truong on April 4, where she held up placards condemning the violence and marching with other participants.
A day after the Atlanta shootings, she posted a picture of a protest and captioned it “what happened yesterday in Atlanta was brutal, tragic, and is certainly not an isolated incident by any means. AAPI hate has been rampantly perpetuated and it’s disgusting! I’m heartbroken for the Asian community and my heart is with the loved ones of those we lost yesterday. The hate must stop. #ProtectAAPILives.”
what happened yesterday in Atlanta was brutal, tragic & is certainly not an isolated incident by any means. AAPI hate has been rampantly perpetuated & it’s disgusting! I’m heartbroken for the Asian community & my heart is with the loved ones of those we lost. The hate must stop. pic.twitter.com/rkxZDnxG9E
— Rihanna (@rihanna) March 18, 2021
Later, she also reposted Daniel Dae Kim’s testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee.
Olivia Munn
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The fashion designer, in 2020, joined hands with Tiffany & Co.’s executive creative director Ruba Abu-Nimah to launch #NYTougherThanEver which is aimed at helping support marginalised communities in New York City. They have released limited-edition clothes and accessories in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and people affected by the Beirut explosion in Lebanon.
Moved by the rise in anti-Asian hate, the initiative brought out a new collection — key tags with “Stop Asian Hate” emblazoned on them. Proceeds go to AAPI GoFundMe, which supports grassroots AAPI organisations across the country.
Lim has also been active in protests and solidarity gatherings such as the ‘Running for Protest’ event held recently in New York City. He has been constantly using social media to draw attention to the attacks on Asian as well as African Americans.
Prabal Gurung
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The acclaimed fashion designer wrote an essay for CNN on April 7, 2021, in which he narrated how he is concerned about the safety of his 75-year-old mother who lives in New York. “This is what it’s come to. A fear so constant that it’s crippling,” he wrote. Drawing attention to how Trump drove hate towards the Asian community with his repeated usage of “China virus” and the spate of recent attacks on Asian Americans, Gurung also revealed that during a meeting for his label’s 10th-anniversary collection in 2018, an investor had asked, “Well you don’t look American, how can you define American style?”
“It was clear to me what he meant by his statement: I wasn’t White, therefore I had no authority to shape the American ideal. And this despite being an American citizen who owns a business in this country — one who employs Americans and immigrants, embraces a ‘Made in America’ production ethos and pays taxes. For some people it’s just never enough,” Gurung wrote. In response, he not only turned the collection into a celebration of everything American stands for but ended it with the question “Who gets to be American?”
Gurung has been at the forefront with other Asian American celebrities in raising their voice on the attacks against members of this and other communities by participating in events like the ‘Running to Protest’ and Black Lives Matter marches.
Amanda Nguyen
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Sharing the sense of dread among the Asian American people, the Nobel Peace Prize nominee said that her friends have been testing to say how they are even drawing their eyeliner to make the eyes look bigger.
“Anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination unfortunately … existed long before COVID,” she said. “It existed as soon as Asian-Americans — well, as Asian people — stepped into this country,” she said on the People Everyday podcast on February 26.
Nguyen, who has been honoured with the Nelson Mandela Changemaker award, also told CBS News that the stories of Asian Americans do not get featured in mainstream media. She said that a video she posted in February 2021 on attacks on Asians acted like “fire meets gasoline” and prompted even other communities to take action against the hate crimes on the Asian community.
Jeremy Lin
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Even before the Atlanta shooting, the basketball star who has been playing in the NBA for nine years revealed that he had been racially targeted. Lin is the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. In a social media post, he said that he was called “coronavirus” on the court. The NBA G League in which he plays subsequently launched a probe into his allegation.
Lin also revealed how he was exhausted of all the objectification Asians face among other things.
“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans. 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. We are tired of Asian American kids growing up and being asked where they’re REALLY from, of having our eyes mocked, of being objectified as exotic or being told we’re inherently unattractive. We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood affecting our psyche and limiting who we think we can be. We are tired of being invisible, of being mistaken for our colleague or told our struggles aren’t as real,” he wrote.
Lin added that he hopes to see a better world for elders and the future generation while pointing out that being Asian American “doesn’t mean we don’t experience poverty and racism.”
Following the Atlanta shooting, he posted a tweet saying, “This is sooo heartbreaking…praying for our world. To my Asian American family, please take time to grieve but know youre loved, seen and IMPORTANT. We have to keep standing up, speaking out, rallying together and fighting for change. We cannot lose hope!!”
The Santa Cruz Warriors player had also called out Trump on his “Chinese virus” reference warning that his “subtle anti-Chinese message only empowers more hate towards Asians.”
Jamie Chung
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When Chung attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards’ virtual red carpet, she wore an off-shoulder, red dress by Oscar de la Renta. But what caught attention was her Edie Parker handbag which had “Stop Asian Hate” written on it. It was seen as a strong statement against the hate directed at the AAPI community.
She also posted pictures from the red carpet appearance on Instagram and underlined her pride in her heritage in powerful words.
“In some Asian cultures, the color red symbolizes joy, luck and happiness. In Korean culture it symbolizes creation, passion and power. I’m so proud of my history and heritage,” the actress wrote, before thanking those associated with the event and her outfit.
When Long killed the eight people in the Atlanta area, Chung not only condemned the incident but also called out the media over its reportage.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families. These murders and countless acts of violence and the destruction of businesses and white terrorism in our communities are the direct cause of politicians and leaders fanning the flames of anti Asian rhetoric and using us as a scapegoat for a global pandemic. Historically Asian immigrants have been the scapegoat for others misfortunes. This ends now. It starts by calling it what it is. MEDIA YOU NEED TO DO BETTER, CALL IT WHAT IT IS, DOMESTIC WHITE TERRORISM HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIANS. #stopasianhate,” she wrote on Instagram.
She has also strongly condemned ‘white supremacy’. In a recent post, she shared two images. The first, an artwork, drawing attention to the contrasting narratives around the killing of Daunte Wright to that around the storming of the US Capitol Hill. The second pointing at how taking the knee is seen as an insult of American troops while police in Virginia pepper-sprayed an African American US Army lieutenant.
In the caption, she urged her followers to “destroy white supremacy”. Chung said that white supremacy means systems in place “that protect and continue to empower white people and ideology”.
“We must destroy white supremacy. I know hearing that phrase makes some people cringe or shy away from the topic. It’s time to face some ugly issues that can no longer be ignored. It’s without question that BIPOC people grossly mistreated in this country. Systems that are in place that protect and continue to empower white people and ideology used to pit minority groups against each other IS WHITE SUPREMACY and it MUST BE DISMANTLED. PERIOD. This is a threat to ALL OF US,” she wrote.
Tzi Ma
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In an incident that happened in the early months of the pandemic, the Mulan actor was walking to a place in Pasadena, California, when he noticed a car slowing down in front of him. Ma’s initial thought was that the driver was being polite by letting him pass but it soon turned to shock.
“He rode up and stopped in front of me, rolled down his window and looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘You should be quarantined,’ and took off,” Ma said, adding that it left him “numb” and “dazed”.
The incident led Ma to launch the #WashtheHate social media campaign with other Asian American celebrities. People have since used the hashtag to share their stories of racism.
Like many other Asian Americans, Ma has accused former president Trump of encouraging racism against the community. The actor who has often called for more unity in the efforts to counter racism told CBS News that he felt heartbroken following the news of the Atlanta shootings while underlining that Asian Americans are “not as silent as people say we are.”
“We’ve marched, we’ve done demonstrations…We’ve been active for many, many years, all the way back when the first railroad workers who came from China to build this continental withdrawal, of all us,” he said.
Highlighting racism perpetuated through decades of Hollywood portrayals of Asians, Ma said, “We are the Fu Manchus and we are the Suzie Wongs. Hopefully, with the collective effort of the #OscarsTooWhite, #MeToo movement, all of those things have assisted the change in Hollywood. And I really find that for the very first time, we have a foothold to propel us forward.”
He said that he is currently shooting for a show in which he has an Asian American woman showrunner for the first time and the writers’ room is a capsule of inclusivity. “I have never seen that, ever. So that’s progress. We need to continue to do it because we are a multicultural, multi-ethnic community,” Ma remarked.
When asked by Time magazine whether xenophobia is permanently embedded in American society, Ma responded that he is a “pretty optimistic guy”, but knows that “it ain’t gonna change that much.”
“We’re going to continue to face it: to be perpetual foreigners,” the 58-year-old said.
Bowen Yang
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When
The Saturday Night Live star used his powerful platform to deliver an impassioned statement on the attacks on members of the AAPI community. In the show’s “Weekend Update” segment on March 27, he said, “I’m just a comedian. I don’t have all the answers. But I’m not just looking for them online. I’m looking around me.”
“If someone’s personality is ‘punch an Asian grandma,’ it’s not a dialogue. I have an Asian grandma. You want to punch her? There ain’t no common ground, Mama,” the 30-year-old said, referring to the fact that many of the victims were elderly people such as Xiao Zhen Xie, a 75-year-old Asian woman who was attacked by a white man in San Francisco on March 17.
Yang said that he relies on the Mandarin term “jiayou” which translates to ‘fuel up’.
“I don’t know what’s helpful to say to everyone, but that’s what I say to myself: Fuel up, do more. It’s the Year of the Metal Ox, which basically means a car. So everybody get in, buckle up, there’s no pee breaks, we ride at dawn, grandmas!” he said.
Sandra Oh Against Asian Hate
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At a ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally in Pittsburgh on March 20, the Killing Eve star addressed a gathering of around 250 people imploring everyone to support the community.
“For many of us in our community, this is the first time we are even able to voice our fear and our anger, and I really am so grateful to everyone willing to listen,” Oh is heard saying in videos from the event that are doing the rounds of social media. She acknowledged that many in the community are “very scared”.
“To everyone here… I will challenge everyone here, if you see something, will you help me? If you see one of our sisters and brothers in need, will you help us? We must understand, as Asian Americans, we just need to reach out our hand to our sisters and brothers and say, ‘Help me and I’m here,'” she told the gathering.
Awkwafina
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The Raya And The Last Dragon actress this Lunar New Year extended her support to organisations working to stop anti-Asian hate. After narrating how she was always excited for the annual festival while growing up, she wrote in an Instagram post, “But this year, Lunar New Year took on a different meaning. I am saddened, disturbed and devastated at the recent string of attacks against the Asian American community, and against our elders.”
“So for the YEAR OF THE OX, I’m giving the proverbial red envelope (only numbers with 8s) to some organizations that have done amazing work for social and racial justice,” she added while sharing screenshots of some organisations where she made the donations.
Lana Condor Speaks up Against Asian Hate
Condor, famous for her leading role in To All The Boys I’ve Loved movie trilogy, urged her followers on social media to “wake up” and support Asians.
“Wake up… your Asian friends and family are deeply scared, horrified, sick to their stomachs and wildly angry. Please please please check in on us, please please please stand with us. Please. Your Asian friend needs you, even if they aren’t publicly grieving on social media,” she wrote on Twitter in the wake of the Atlanta-area shootings.
Wake up… your Asian friends and family are deeply scared, horrified, sick to their stomachs and wildly angry. Please please please check in on us, please please please stand with us. Please. Your Asian friend needs you, even if they aren’t publicly grieving on social media. x
— Lana Condor (@lanacondor) March 17, 2021
At ICM’s Stop Asian Hate Town Hall panel in April 2021, Condor joined stand-up comic Sherry Cola, New Jersey Representative Andy Kim of the Democratic party, Director of Asian American Studies at Indiana University Dr. Ellen Wu, and ACLU’s Cecilia Wang.
She shared stories of discrimination in Hollywood and said that many of her close friends were not even aware that discrimination against Asian Americans takes place. Condor said that victims should be given a safe space to speak.
“[The solution is] not to be mad at them. It’s to sit down and have a conversation with them and help them see that it’s a safe place to speak and to share,” Condor said.
The actress, who has always been supportive of Asian designers, later told ET Online that not only will she continue to do so but also do that “now more than ever.”
“I’m going to continue to do my work with The Asia Foundation to help give girls education in third world countries. I have all these big plans, and sometimes I feel like, ‘Oh my God. How could I do it all?’ But then, I believe in myself, and I’m like, ‘I can do this,'” she said.
Chloé Zhao
Responding to a question in a virtual press room after accepting the Best Director 2021 Golden Globe for Nomadland, Zhao shared her concern about the rising numbers of anti-Asian violence.
Zhao, who became the first Asian woman to win the award for direction, began by saying that she sees many important people “doing incredible work in the community to raise awareness.”
“Again, [it’s] the word ‘compassion.’ I think when we look in each other’s eyes and stare at the other person, you can’t deny them as a human being. We all just have to learn. Maybe we need to be a bit more compassionate to ourselves,” she said.
“I sometimes feel like people with so much hate, maybe they just hate themselves and I think an understanding and try to see the world from the other person’s perspective is the only way we can survive as a species,” the director added.
Naomi Osaka
The multiple-time Grand Slam champion has been known for her support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, Osaka has been equally vocal about violence against Asians. In February, she expressed concerns over the Asian community being blamed for the pandemic.
“The amount of hate, racism, and blame for COVID towards the Asian community is disgusting. The fact that this topic is not very widely covered makes me concerned. I only found videos and information because I was scrolling through my IG feed and by some algorithm it appeared,” she wrote.
The amount of hate, racism, and blame for COVID towards the Asian community is disgusting. The fact that this topic is not very widely covered makes me concerned. I only found videos and information because I was scrolling through my IG feed and by some algorithm it appeared.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 7, 2021
On March 27, she again tweeted that the hypocrisy of those who love Asian things but attack Asian groups.
“If people loved Asian people as much as they love bubble tea, anime, mochi, sushi, matcha etc… Imagine profiting/enjoying things that come from a culture and then attacking/diminishing the ethnic group that created it,” she said.
Sharing the tweet on Instagram, she wrote: “#stopasianhate <- It’s really sad that this even has to be a hashtag/slogan. It should be common sense but it seems like common sense is uncommon in this world now.”
Osaka has also appeared alongside other tennis players in a video from the Women’s Tennis Association sharing their support for the AAPI community.
Eric Nam against Asian Hate
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The K-pop star is among the many who have expressed anger at the racism that Asian Americans face in the US.
In an essay for the Time, published on March 19, the Atlanta native narrated his ordeals while growing up in the country. He wrote that he experienced racism at the hands of not only strangers but also teachers.
“A submission to and eventual complicity with racism normalized a dynamic that should not exist,” Eric writes. “To grow up believing we needed to be O.K. with racism in order to have a seat at the table is not O.K. To internalize racism at such a young age, in retrospect, warped my sense of normality.”
In a particularly powerful message, he says, “Several still ask, ‘Why haven’t you said anything?’ Let’s be very clear: we have always been pleading for your help, perhaps more than ever over the past year. You did not listen. You did not hear us. Please hear us now because being silent now is being complicit.”
In a conversation with CNN, he reiterated that racism against Asians was always there in the country but never paid attention to and that Asian Americans are made to feel like “perpetual foreigners” in their own country.
(Main and featured images: Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/People)
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