The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others have drawn in AAPI groups to participate in the uprisings and probe further into the practice of radical solidarity and addressing anti-Blackness in their communities. These actions include:

• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities organized a phone jam demanding accountability to the Kentucky elected officials for the death of Breonna Taylor;
• Providence Youth Student Movement led a thousand strong march on Juneteenth; 
• Southeast Asian Coalition has been holding actions against the arrests of hundreds of protestors since the killing of George Floyd; and 
• Freedom Inc’s Youth Squad  led and successfully removed School Resource Officers from Madison Public Schools.

Art by Natalie Bui

AAPI communities are contending with COVID inspired racial slurs and acts of violence spurred by the government’s framing of the virus as a “Chinese” foreign enemy. A number of AAPI groups such as Chinese for Affirmative Action in California, Cia Siab in Wisconsin, and Rising Voices of Asian American Families in Michigan are calling on communities to report incidents.

In Minnesota, the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) formed the Asian Minnesotan Alliance for Justice and worked with the state to establish a Discrimination Helpline and joined with Muslim, Jewish, LGBTQ+ groups to work on legislation to support community responders and clarify hate crimes. With reports covering virtually all fifty states, incidents range from verbal abuse and bullying to denial of service, vandalism and physical assaults. Some of the cases of discrimination are occurring in the workplace and may be considered civil rights violations and others may rise to the level of being a hate crime.

These anti Asian incidents are fueling organizations such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Chicago, Asian Services in Action in Ohio, and Chinese Progressive Association of Boston in condemning the attacks, calling for accountability from elected officials and media outlets, and holding workshops and bystander intervention trainings. Groups are strategizing about how else they can support community members who’ve experienced hate, build community response, develop policy agendas and build narratives to talk globally about what is happening.

Art by Natalie Bui

AAPI groups across the country have responded rapidly to the new and changing needs of the community. Here are some examples:

• Changing tactics – COVID-19 struck as many non profits were about to kick off their 2020 Census outreach activities. It led groups such as the New Mexico Asian Family Center to switch from door canvasses and events to phone banking and other forms of remote communications. 

• Coupling aid with information about becoming civically engaged – During the New York primaries in June, Mekong NYC dropped off care packages while providing information on where and how to vote. 

• Doubling down on progressive policy measures – Given the hardships low income communities of color are facing and the inequities in the governmental response to the crisis, groups like CAAAV-Organizing Asian Communities won one of the strongest eviction moratoriums in the country. 

• Aiding communities left out of government relief efforts – Dozens of AAPI groups like Asian Americans United have raised funds to support undocumented families, among others. 

• Keeping communities connected – When three Vietnamese language papers serving the tri city area shut down, Viet Lead based in Philadelphia filled the information gap running Vietnamese language webinars on unemployment insurance or small business loans. In Oregon, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon has become the primary source of information for those who do not speak or read English well.

• Seizing this teachable moment – Groups like Asian Pacific Environmental Network are driving home the intersections of race and class on longstanding issues such as environmental justice.

Art by Natalie Bui

COVID-19 has exacerbated and exposed longstanding inequalities across a range of systems as well as brought to the forefront the enduring plague of racism and xenophobia. For example, in the area of health care, 1 in 10 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) are uninsured and suffer from higher rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes or tobacco use.

Recent figures show that NHPIs have the highest infection rate in Los Angeles County and are dying at a disproportionately higher rate than any other group in California.  Low income families and where parents are Limited English Proficient and/or less computer literate encounter greater obstacles helping their children access online learning.