Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Last week, a 21-year-old white man was charged with killing eight people at three massage parlors in Georgia.
Six of the eight people were Asian women, and the attack is one of the latest in a surge of anti-Asian violence since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
A recent report from San Francisco State University found there have been nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination against Asians in the past year. Another report found that in many of America’s largest cities, hate crimes against Asian Americans increased by nearly 150% in 2020.
One cause many experts point to is racist rhetoric around COVID-19. A clear example is former President Trump’s habit of referring to the disease as the “Chinese Virus” or “kung flu.”
We speak with a panel of community leaders and experts, including a North Carolina state senator about his plan to file the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as we look at the rise of Asian American hate crimes across the nation and what might be done to curb it.
GUESTS
Jay Chaudhuri, North Carolina state senator, District 15
Cat Bao Le, organizer for SEAC Village
Dr. Scott Kurashige, chair of comparative race and ethnic studies at Texas Christian University
