Giving Compass' Take:
- Asian-American stereotypes and the onset of COVID-19 fueled the flames for anti-Asian hate and violence, and communities look to philanthropy for long-term support.
- Asian-Americans are addressing violence against their communities through local and federal policy changes, but how can philanthropy help these communities fight for justice?
- Read more on why philanthropy must commit to ending anti-Asian violence.
What is Giving Compass?
We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us.
Twenty-nine months ago, when the first reports of a new highly transmissible virus were emerging from China, the Asian American community held our breaths, fearing not only the virus itself but also the racialized scapegoating it could bring.
Twenty-eight months ago, we started seeing the first reports of COVID-related harassment of Asian Americans, and soon thereafter, Asian American businesses began shuttering, victims of racialized fearmongering, a full month prior to the declaration of a pandemic and mandated shut downs.
And twenty-seven months ago, alongside nationwide shutdowns came reports of hate-fueled violence targeting our communities. Concurrently, resource-strapped local organizations serving the Asian American community faced capacity constraints to meet growing needs in the face of the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and anti-Asian hate.
- The “perpetual foreigner”Long before viral videos of horrific violence jolted the nation awake to the reality of anti-Asian hate, Asian Americans feared what was to come, because we had seen this before, repeated throughout American history.
- The “model minority”The Asian American community is bi-modal—with high concentrations at the high and low ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. The model minority myth flattens this diversity and disparity within our communities into one high-achieving monolith, rendering invisible the distinct histories, socioeconomic realities, and needs of 22 million Asian Americans comprising more than 50 ethnicities speaking over 100 languages.
One pernicious consequence of the model minority myth is the devastating underinvestment in Asian American communities, by government and philanthropy alike. We at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC advocate daily, engaging Congress and the administration to find policy solutions and dedicated resources for the Asian American community, including linguistically accessible and culturally competent services, prioritizing input from Asian American community leaders, and partnerships and grants for Asian American community-serving community-based organizations. And while our work with government is ongoing, we look to the philanthropic community to be part of the long-term solutions we seek.
Read the full article about addressing anti-Asian hate by Jiny Kim at PhilanTopic.