Educational & Support Resources on Anti-Asian Hate

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, there has been a marked increase in incidents of harassment, bullying, verbal assault, and violence against Asians and Asian Americans. In response to this situation, below are resources to deal with anti-Asian hate and how to support the Asian & Asian American community.

Also, please see the Asian & Asian American Studies Program's statements on:

The following sites may contain useful resources for those who have experienced hate incidents (the non-UMass Amherst links are for informational purposes only and does not necessarily imply an endorsement):

To report and document hate incidents, those affected are encouraged to report them using any or all of the following websites:

Educational resources related to Asian American history, experiences, and anti-Asian hate:

Additional actions to support the Asian & Asian American community:

'Hate Has No Place Amidst The Pandemic' by Chanel Miller / https://time.com/5820656/chanel-miller-coronavirus-racism 'Hate Has No Place Amidst The Pandemic' by Chanel Miller / https://time.com/5820656/chanel-miller-coronavirus-racism

Statement in Support of UMass Amherst's Black Community (Nov. 2023)

In light of recent incidents of anti-Black racism that included anonymous emails sent to Black students and organizations at UMass Amherst, the Asian & Asian American Studies Program stands in unwavering solidarity with our Black community at UMass Amherst and beyond. We strongly echo the statements that were recently released by the Black Advisory Council of the Office for Equity and Inclusion, the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies, the Native Advisory Council, the Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies department, and our other allies across campus.

First and foremost, our thoughts are with the Black members of the UMass Amherst community who have been affected by these and other examples of anti-Black racism on campus and elsewhere. As the Black Advisory Council wrote, we share their outrage and heartbreak at once again having to endure such examples of hateful spite and we celebrate their ongoing resilience and strength in the face of these and other challenges.

As our colleagues have also pointed out, these ignorant and repugnant incidents illustrate how the legacy and ongoing tragic effects of institutional injustice and white supremacy are firmly embedded into U.S. social institutions, and demonstrate how Black lives are being systematically devalued. We support efforts to hold those who commit such acts of racial terror accountable, and we also call for changing the fundamental structures that reinforce and perpetuate systemic racism in all areas of U.S. society.

Finally, we reiterate our earlier calls for the Asian American community to recognize how the model minority stereotype contributes to false divisions with other communities of color, and may blind us to the oppression and injustice felt by members of the Black community. We also urge Asian Americans to reject attempts to use the increase in anti-Asian racism as another mechanism to perpetuate the overcriminalization of the Black community and instead, call on Asian Americans (and the field of Asian and Asian American Studies) to fight for concrete, meaningful actions that address fundamental inequities related to economic insecurity, healthcare, unemployment, housing, and incarceration for the Black community and all those in vulnerable positions.

Statement of Solidarity with Palestine

The Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggles against historical and ongoing forms of injustice. We endorse and want to amplify the statements that have already been publicized by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the Association for Asian American Studies, and the Students for Justice in Palestine at UMass Amherst that detail the forced evictions, destruction of property, violence, and other forms of racism, settler colonialism, and oppression, particularly since May 2021. We also acknowledge the many previous and ongoing efforts at UMass Amherst and the Five Colleges, including from the Resistance Studies Initiative and numerous student groups, faculty members, and campus programs. We join them and many others in urging our political and educational leaders and everyone to fully commit to supporting freedom, justice, equality, and dignity for the Palestinian people.

Statement on Anti-Asian Racism, Xenophobia, and Gender-Based Violence (March 2021)

We stand against racism in all its forms. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, StopAAPIHate.org has reported over 3,800 incidents of harassment, bullying, verbal assault, and violence against Asians and Asian Americans, with many more going unreported. Data shows that hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased 149% from 2019 to 2020 while overall hate crimes declined by 7%. With the latest spike of anti-Asian hate since the start of 2021 and especially in the aftermath of six Asian American women (and two white victims) killed by a white gunman in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program (AAASCP) at UMass Amherst condemns the specific nature of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian racism and xenophobia, which does not happen in isolation from ongoing forms of structural racism, injustice, and inequality.

These historical patterns of racism and xenophobia are based on constructions of Asian Americans as the Yellow Peril, or some form of political, economic, cultural, and/or public threat to U.S. society and specifically to the white population. They are fueled by mis/disinformation, conspiracy theories, and rhetoric from political leaders and high-profile personalities through such terms as the "Chinese virus," "Wuhan virus," or "Kung-flu," and all highlight how racism against Asians is ingrained in this country’s history. The killings of six Asian American women in Atlanta specifically highlight the misogyny, sexualization, and fetishization of Asian American women and how these are fueled by toxic masculinity. Mainstream media and popular culture further racialize and sexualize Asian women, heightening their vulnerabilities to interpersonal and institutional violence. In fact, the StopAAPIHate data shows that women report hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. These hateful acts have forced Asians and Asian Americans, particularly elderly Asians who are perceived as easy targets, into a constant state of hyper-awareness and vigilance when they are in public, taking a huge emotional toll.

Anti-Asian racism has never occurred in isolation and is always connected to other and existing forms of structural racism and inequality. We see this in the significantly dire impact of the current pandemic on other minoritized communities, particularly the ongoing assault on and overcriminalization of Black people, the systematic neglect and injustices targeted toward Indigenous communities, immigrants from Latin America, and workers in vulnerable positions. Understanding the interconnections and intersections of these forms of institutional racism, we must commit to addressing the specific needs of the Asian and Asian American community as part of a broad commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for all.

Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected by these acts of anti-Asian hate and we join them in collective grief, sadness, and anger. We urge our political, community, and institutional leaders, to center the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society, including those who already feel marginalized and face everyday challenges in their lives due to sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, religious intolerance, and other overt and covert forms of prejudice and discrimination. We ask all members of our institutions and communities to commit to building a more inclusive, equitable, and just society and respond with action to address anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.

We call on all members of our society, but particularly our leaders in local, state, and federal government and institutions of higher education, to:

In anticipation of hate incidents if/when they occur, we also call on university administrators to develop and implement clear and centralized protocols, comprehensive “best practices,” and provisions of support for those who are directly targeted or feel unsafe or threatened, and that addresses the academic, emotional, physical and material costs to those affected and that also take into account the need for responses that are attentive to the particularities of specific incidents and concerns. These include:

  • Designating clear point people and centralized protocols to respond to any forms of racism and hate that impact our communities (particularly international Asian and Asian American undergraduate and graduate students) and provide timely and integrated support for:
    • Immediate needs such as emergency/temporary housing and meals, and accessing healthcare, mental health and other support services
    • Physical safety protection if needed, including move-out from or to on- or off-campus housing
    • Liaison with university offices and town police on developing alternatives to disciplinary and criminalizing responses in favor of community-centric approaches
  • Serious consideration of implementing a program or form of mandatory anti-bias training for all students that includes understanding individual- and institutional-level dynamics related to privilege, and various forms of inequality and injustice, including but not limited to racism, sexism, class stratification, homophobia, transphobia, religious intolerance, undocumented status, and ableism.

A PDF copy of this statement can be downloaded here. To see a listing of events in support of the Asian American community, please visit the Events & Activities Calendar page.

Systemic Racism, Police Brutality, and the COVID-19 Situations (June 2020)

The Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program stands in strong solidarity with the Black community in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and countless other innocent Black lives who were killed as a result of police brutality. We echo the statement from our Chancellor that highlights how these events illustrate the ongoing legacy and tragic effects of institutional racism and injustice that are firmly embedded into U.S. social institutions that result in Black lives systematically devalued. We support efforts to hold those who commit such acts of violence and racial terror accountable, and efforts at changing the fundamental structures that reinforce and perpetuate systemic racism in all areas of U.S. society. The Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program also calls on members of the Asian Pacific American community to acknowledge how the model minority stereotype contributes to the oppression and injustice felt by members of the Black community.

We also support the statement of organizations such as the Association for Asian American Studies in regard to the harassment of Asian Pacific Americans due to the Covid-19 situation:

The Centers for Disease Control recently announced that the Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 may spread in the United States. As people take precautions to manage their health (the two biggest precautions are frequent handwashing and staying home if you are sick), the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) wants to also acknowledge the rise of anti-Asian (especially anti-Chinese) harassment that many Asian Americans (particularly those who look East Asian) are experiencing.

As an organization dedicated to the study of Asian Americans, we want to be very clear that xenophobia has no place in our communities or workplaces, and that harassment of Asians due to fears of the coronavirus are not only unwarranted but sadly part of a longer history of stereotypes associating Asians, especially Chinese, with disease. We stand firm in rejecting anti-Asian bigotry in the guise of people expressing fear of Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19. We also urge people to find resources that will educate them about how to manage their health as well as why their prejudices/biases in assuming all Asians have the virus are rooted in a history of Yellow Peril rhetoric, xenophobia, ableism, and anti-Asian racism. Please encourage your colleagues and friends to explore this open-source syllabus that addresses anti-Asian bias associated with the coronavirus. And please remember: frequent handwashing, not anti-Asian stereotypes/harassment, is your best means of preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Other statements about the Covid-19/Coronavirus situation and its effects on Asian Americans can be found below (each link is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily imply an endorsement):

For an updated listing of upcoming talks, events, and other activities related to the Certificate program, remember to check out and 'like' our Facebook and Instagram pages.