ED: WITH MORE PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDING THE VIOLENCE
AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS, HOW DO YOU REACH LONG-LASTING
SOLUTIONS?
SHAUN: WCVB’S JANET WU IS TAKING THAT QUESTION TO COMMUNITY
LEADER IN MASSSACHUETTS.
JANET.
JANET: SHAUN AND ED, WE HAVE 4 COMMUNITY LEADERS WITH US,
BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR MICHELLE WU, STATE REPRESENTATIVE JACKIE
CHAN PAWLEY, AND ATTORNEY AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND ANGELOU,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ASIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION.
PAUL, I’M GOING TO START WITH YOU.
YOU’RE A BOSTONIAN IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE LABEL.
RACISM AGAINST ASIANS HERE ISN’T NEW BY ANY MEANS.
BUT WHAT ARE YOU SEEING RIGHT NOW THAT’S DIFFERENT, IF IT IS
DIFFERENT?
AND DOES IT GIVE YOU HOPE OR MAKE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE
FEARFUL?
PAUL: I THINK THAT THE MOMENT IS VERY DIFFERENT.
I THINK THIS TIME AROUND WE HAVE MUCH MORE POWER AND INFLUENCE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE COMPARING THIS MOMENT IN 1982 WHEN VINCENT
CHIN, A CHINESE AMERICAN, WAS MURDERED BY TWO WHITE DETROIT
AUTO WORKERS WHO THOUGHT HE WAS JAPANESE AND THEY THOUGHT TH
JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS HAD -- WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS OF
THEIR JOBS.
AND WHAT THAT DID WAS THAT WOKE UP THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
TO THE FACT THAT WHETHER YOU’RE JAPANESE OR CHINESE-AMERICAN OR
KOREAN-AMERICAN, WE ALL LOOK ALIKE.
AND SO WE HAD TO COME TOGETHER AND DEFEND OURSELVES.
UNFORTUNATELY, AT THAT TIME, WE DIDN’T HAVE THE POWER AND
INFLUENCE.
FAST-FORWARD TO NEARLY 40 YEARS LATER.
NOW WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IMMIGRANTS.
WE HAVE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE GROWN UP, GONE TO
COLLEGE AND ACHIEVED SUCCESS I AND SO WE HAVE A VOICE, AND I
THINK THIS TIME AROUND, I THINK WE’RE MUCH STRONGER AND WE CAN
ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES.
JANET: MICHELLE, DO YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE NOW?
DO YOU FEEL THAT THINGS MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS FOR MY
GENERATION, FOR PAUL’S GENERATION?
MICHELLE: YOU KNOW, SO MANY OF THE FEELING THAT I HAVE HAD AS A
DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS AND AN ASIAN-AMERICAN, AS WE’VE SEEN
THE NEWS OF AN ONGOING ACCELERATION OF THE VIOLENCE AND
HATRED AND ANTI -- ANTI-ASIAN RACISM HAS RESURFACED.
A LOT OF MY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES, FROM STRANGERS
APPROACHING MY FAMILY, ME OUT IN PUBLIC YELLING SLURS OR IN
MAKING OTHER MOTIONS THAT THAT WERE RACIST.
BUT I DO AGREE THAT IN THIS MOMENT THERE IS SUCH A
NATIONWIDE AWAKENING, A CITYWIDE AWAKENING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE
OF STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST RACISM, PERIOD, RIGHT ACROSS
ETHNIC GROUPS, ACROSS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND I’M SO EXCITED AND ENERGIZED TO SEE THAT THERE’S A MOMENT NOT
JUST TO PUSH BACK INDIVIDUAL BY INDIVIDUAL, BUT REALLY IN A
SYSTEMIC WAY AND TO TALK ABOUT THE LONG-TERM STABILIZATION OF
THE POLICIES WE NEED SO THAT EVERYBODY IS SAFE AND HEALTHY
AND HAPP >> THIS SHOW ITSELF SHOWS A
DEGREE OF OPTIMISM, BECAUSE AS PAUL CORRECTLY POINTS OUT, IT’S
VERY QUICKLY HOW HE DISAPPEARED FROM THE NEWS MEDIA AND
CONVERSATION.
SO CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS IN THIS FORMAT BEYOND JUST
POLITICAL AND COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP IS A CENTRAL
-- IS ESSENTIAL, AND HAVING THIS CHANCE TO CONVERSE IS VERY
HEARTENING.
JANET: ANGIE, RACISM IS MORE THAN HATEFUL WORDS OR DANGEROUS
ENCOUNTERS ON THE STREET.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU AND THE COMMUNITY SEE THAT REVEALS THE
SORT OF LIKE DEEPLY EMBEDDED PROBLEMS THE ASIANS CONFRONT
DAILY?
ANGIE: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SYSTEMIC RACISM, IT’S A SYSTEMS
OF THE LACK OF LANGUAGE ACCESS, THE LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
AND HOUSING STABILITY, THE LACK OF APPROPRIATE WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET WELL-PAID JOBS
AND TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
SO ALL THESE FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THE SYSTEMIC.
RACISM AND OPPRESSION THAT OUR COMMUNITIES SUFFER ON A DAILY
BASIS, AND THAT’S VERY HARD TO SEE.
JANET: MICHELLE, DURING THE PANDEMIC, REPORTED HATE CRIMES
DECREASED BY 14% IN BOSTON, BUT ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIMES WHICH
WERE REPORTED NEARLY DOUBLED.
SOME PEOPLE BLAME THE FORMER PRESIDENT FOR GRANTI
PERMISSION TRACK.
DO YOU AGREE OR ARE THERE ALSO OTHER FACTORS INVOLVED HERE?
MICHELLE: PRIOR TO THE VIRUS EVEN REALLY SPREADING IN THE
UNITED STATES, WE WERE ALREADY FEELING THE IMPACTS HERE IN
CHINATOWN AND IN ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
WHERE BUSINESS WAS DOWN 60%, 70% OR MORE, AND IT WAS BECAUSE
MISINFORMATION, RACISM, XENOPHOBIA WAS BEING FUELED BY
LEADERS AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS IN OUR GOVERNMENT.
EVEN THOUGH THERE HAS BEEN MORE AWARENESS, EVEN THOUGH THERE HAS
BEEN HEIGHTENED ATTENTION AND NOW MORE COUNTING AND
MONITORING, WE ARE STILL UNDERCOUNTING.
WE ARE STILL NOT CATCHING ALL OF THE INCIDENTS.
AND THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN PART OF A LONG-STANDING PATTERN WHERE
THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY HAS EXPERIENCED THIS FOR A LONG
TIME, NOT JUST NOT JUST THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
JANET: ANGIE, WHERE DO YOU THINK THIS ALL COMES FROM?
ANGIE: THERE IS A LONG, LONG HISTORY OF XENOPHOBIA AND
SYSTEMIC RACISM AGAINST ASIANS FROM THE VERY MOMENT THAT WE SET
FOOT ON THIS LAND.
SO WHILE PRESIDENT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTRIBUTED TO
THE RHETORIC, THIS IS NOTHING NE
WE THINK ABOUT THIS COUNTRY FROM THE 1882 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT
TO THE ROUNDING UP OF JAPANESE AMERICANS, AMERICAN CITIZENS,
INTO INTERNMENT CAMPS DURING WORLD WAR II.
WE CANNOT POINT TO THE ROOT OF THIS RACISM TO ANY SINGLE
POLITICIAN, AND WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS DEEPLY,
DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN THE FOUNDATION OF THIS COUNTRY
JANET: LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
CONGRESS IS PUSHING THROUGH A BILL TO CONFRONT ASIAN HATE
CRIMES.
IS IT A GOOD BILL?
AND IF SO, WHAT SHOULD ALSO BE DONE BY MASSACHUSETTS IN THE
LEGISLATURE WHERE YOU SERVE?
IF ANYTHING?
>> IT’S THE FIRST TIME IN MY MIND THAT SOMETHING POSITIVE
ACTUALLY MOVE THE CONGRESS FOR THIS END OF THE COMMUNITY.
THROUGHOUT COVID-19 PRETTY MUCH WE WERE IGNORED BY WASHINGTON.
AND AS WE ALL STRUGGLE TO THE LOCAL LEVEL AND MY LEVEL OF
GOVERNMENT, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE UPDATING THE HATE
CRIMES LAW TO LOOK AT THE TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
WE WANT TO AVOID AN ATLANTA SITUATION WHERE THEY CLAIM SEX
ADDICTION AS A MOTIVE FOR SHOOTING SIX ASIAN WOMEN AND
ACCUSING THEM OF PROSTITUTION ON A FALSE BASIS.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE BILLS ON ETHNIC EDUCATION, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I LOOKED AT MY HISTORY BOOKS WHEN I WAS A CHILD AND SAW LES
THAN FOUR PARAGRAPHS, MORE LIKE 10 SENTENCES, ABOUT JAPANESE
INTERNMENT CAMPS THAT AREN’T REALLY DETAILING OUT, YOU KNOW,
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED THAT TIME .
JANET: TRADITIONALLY, THE ASIAN CULTURE DIDN’T ENCOURAGE
SPEAKING UP OR SPEAKING OUT WHEN CONFRONTED WITH VIOLENCE,
DISCRIMINATION, OR PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF SCORN.
THAT’S STARTING TO CHANGE WITH A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS.
BUT HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE THE OLDER GENERATION TO FEEL SAFE
AND TO BEGIN SPEAKING OUT?
PAUL: I THINK THAT THAT’S REALLY HARD.
I MEAN, A LOT OF THE OLDER GENERATION ARE IMMIGRANTS AND
THEY COME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH THE ATTITUDE THAT IT’S A
PRIVILEGE FOR THEM TO BE HERE.
SO THEY DON’T WANT TO COMPLAIN.
THEY DON’T WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES.
I’M TALKING ABOUT MY PARENTS NOW, BOTH IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA.
AND THAT’S WHAT THEY TAUGHT US.
THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, DON’T DRAW ATTENTION
TO YOURSELF, AND REALLY OF RELEVANCE TO ME WAS THEY SAID,
DON’T BE NUMBER ONE IN YOUR CLASS, BE NUMBER TWO, BECAUSE OF
YOUR NUMBER ONE, THEN THEY’RE GOING TO COME AFTER YOU.
I THINK ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT’S OCCURRED WITH THIS
PANDEMIC AND WITH THE STOP AAPI HATE IS THAT WE’RE SEEING YOUTH,
HIGH-SCHOOL YOUTH IN PARTICULAR, WHO ARE SPEAKING OUT.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THEY HAV
BEEN BULLIED, MICROAGGRESSED, YOU KNOW, STEREOTYPED THROUGHOUT
THEIR DAYS IN SCHOOL.
THERE FEELING WE DON’T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE.
WE DON’T WANT TO BE SUBJECTED TO THIS ANYMORE.
JANET: HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT THINGS WILL CHANGE, THAT
ASIANS WILL SPEAK UP, AND THE LEVEL OF DISDAIN, THE
DIVISIVENESS AND THE SCORN, NEVER MIND THE VIOLENCE AND
WORDS OF UNPROVOKED HATE, THAT THEY ENCOUNTER TODAY WILL
ACTUALLY DWINDLE?
ANGIE: I DO THINK THAT THIS TIME THIS MOMENT DOES FEEL DIFFERENT
BECAUSE WE’RE COMING ONTO THIS QUEST IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE
BLACK LIVES MOVEMENT LAST SUMMER.
AND SO I DO THINK THIS TIME AROUND, MORE ASIAN-AMERICANS ARE
REALIZING THAT WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES
OF COLOR.
WE HAVE TO WORK AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF SYSTEMIC RACISM, AND
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STAND DIVIDE
JANET: JACKIE, ARE YOU EQUALLY OPTIMISTIC?
RE CHAN: THE MEDIA NEEDS T CHANGE THE TONE.
MY QUESTION TO MY ENTIRE COMMUNITY IS VERY SIMPLE.
WHERE WERE YOU SIX MONTHS AGO?
SO TO HAVE TRUST IN GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT, TO DO ITS JOB, AND
PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
AND 8 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE ASIAN CAUCUS, WHICH IS THE LARGEST
MINORITY GROUP IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOW, IS NOT
BLACK, IS NOT LATINO.
ASIANS ARE YOUR BIGGEST MINORITY GROUP IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES HAVE TO LEAD.
JANET: WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE FOR YOU, MICHELL
MICHELLE: WE HAVE BEEN THROU SO DEVASTATING -- SUCH A TOUGH
YEAR THROUGH THE PANDEMIC ACROSS EVERY GROUP.
WE HAVE SEEN THIS PANDEMIC DEEPEN AND EXPOSE CRISES THAT
WERE ALREADY HERE LONG BEFORE COVID-19.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO MOVING FORWARD IS MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE
NOT JUST PUTTING BAND-AID ON SOME SITUATIONS, BUT ACTUALLY
ADDRESSING THE UNDERLYING ISSUES.
I HAVE FAITH.
I AM DRIVEN TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE CAN DO IN THIS
MOMENT, WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE POLICIES THAT CAN
ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE THE POWER TO BRING EVERYONE
INTO THE CONVERSATION.
JANET: PAUL, I WILL GIVE YOU THE FINAL WORD.
HOW OPTIMISTIC ARE YOU?
PAUL: I DON’T THINK THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE
PROBLEM OF RACISM AGAINST ASIANS UNLESS WE SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF
RACISM AGAINST ALL PEOPLE.
IT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ALLOW OUR SOCIETY TO STRUCTURE THIS SO
THAT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE VYING FOR EACH OTHER
AGAINST EACH OTHER, TO NOT BE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOTEM POLE.
WE SHOULD ALL BE LIFTED UP TOGETHER AND WE SHOULD ALL WORK
TOGETHER BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY WAY GOING TO ELIMINATE RACISM IN
OUR SOCIET JANET: THIS HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL
CONVERSATION.
THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US.
ED AND SHAUN, WE’LL GO BACK TO YOU.