THE RACE EPIDEMIC

Xenophobia and fear of the other has always been a part of America. The original sin of slavery foretold other sins and discrimination against every “new American.” From the Italians to the Irish, Jews to Asians to Latinx and every other immigrant group that has found their way to America, racism, prejudice, discrimination, and violence have been part of their history and our history as a nation.

AAPIs have long endured hatred and bias in their adopted homeland. However, unlike some other ethnic groups in America, the racism and discrimination has not subsided. Blending in has not been an option. AAPIs are the unwanted Americans, the perpetual foreigner, never welcome in their own homes. Fear, economic uncertainty, and insecurity drives this hate and violence.

Starting with the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Gentlemen’s Agreement which limited Japanese immigration, to the Muslim ban, AAPIs are the unwelcome immigrant. Discrimination, prejudices and ultimately violence have been too common in the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience. In Los Angeles Chinatown in 1871, 500 white men lynched 20 Chinese men, and San Francisco followed suit in 1877when a mob of angry white men rioted in Chinatown for 3 days killing 4 Chinese men and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. In 1982, Vincent Chin was murdered because he was mistaken for a Japanese American – economic rivalry and misperceived threats fueled this violence. Now AAPIs are being attacked and murdered in broad day light caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.