On Anti-Asian Violence

MISTI Radio

The shootings of six Asian women in Atlanta in March of this year may have felt like the apotheosis of Anti-Asian violence in the time of Covid. Hate crimes against Asians shot up about 150% in 2020 in the largest American cities. This was connected to the increase of anti-Asian sentiment that emerged from the spread of Covid-19 in the US.

Because of the origin of the virus, some Americans would call it the “China virus” or the “Wuhan virus.” Covid-19 was racialized, and the Asian community suffered because of it.

The shootings provoked responses and action on a national and local level. We wanted to share clips from a Starr Forum organized by the Center for International Studies and Chris Pilcavage, our Managing Director for the MIT Japan program. In these clips the panelists discussed the causes and those responses to anti-Asian violence.

First was Paul Watanabe, who is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston. He served on President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and as the first Chair of the US Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations.

He gets into the history of the racialization and consequential treatment of Asians in America.

Next we wanted to share clips from Kathy Moon during the forum. She is a Professor of Political Science and the Wasserman Chair of Asian Studies at Wellesley College. She was a senior fellow and the Korea Chair at The Brookings Institution. Her research covers US-East Asia relations, the politics of North and South Korea, women and gender in international relations, social movements, and international migration. She talks about this unique form of intolerance and othering Asians experience, with a focus on the treatment of Asian women.