At least 2,800 hate crimes against Asians in the US 3:42
(CNN) -
A coalition that tracks reports of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans says it has received at least 3,795 first-hand reports since last year.
Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit social organization, began tracking violence and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on March 19 of last year.
From then until the end of 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received a total of 3,292 reports from all 50 states and Washington, according to a press release from Stop AAPI Hate.
The coalition, which had previously reported fewer reports for 2020, said that some incidents that took place in 2020 were not reported until earlier this year.
At least 503 hate incidents against Asians were documented between January 1 and February 28, according to the group's latest report, released Tuesday.
While the incidents reported through its website likely only represent a fraction of the number of hate incidents in the United States, the coalition says those numbers show anti-Asian sentiment still prevails.
Hate incidents are not decreasing.
We cannot allow anti-Asian-American hatred to be a legacy of COVID-19 or the last presidential administration, but that is exactly what will happen unless we demand concrete action, "said Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop, in a statement. AAPI Hate and Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University.
Asian American Hate Incident Data
Most of the incidents, around 68%, were verbal harassment cases, while incidents in which people were rejected or avoided accounted for about 20.5%.
About 11% of the incidents involved physical assaults, according to Stop AAPI Hate.
More than a third of the incidents, 35.4%, occurred in shops, 25.3% on public roads and 9.8% in public parks.
Almost 11% of the reports involved incidents on the web, according to the organization.
Among those who say they experienced hatred, 42.2% identify as Chinese, followed by 14.8% who say they are Korean.
Vietnamese and Filipinos make up 8.5% and 7.9% respectively of those who reported incidents.
Stop AAPI Hate indicated that it does not independently verify any of the reports it receives, but that its total number of incidents only includes the reports that come with a description.
“We simply report what we receive.
We tend to believe in the affected person, especially as many are willing to go on the record and speak publicly about what happened to them, ”Stop AAPI Hate said in a statement.
In recent months, advocates, actors and officials have come together to denounce the violence following a series of attacks in California and New York that left several people seriously injured and some dead.
Biden Condemns Hate Incidents Against Asian Americans
Last week, President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the first anniversary of the Covid-19 lockdown.
During his speech, he condemned the hatred and discrimination Asian Americans have faced.
"Too often, we've turned against each other," Biden said.
“A face mask, the easiest thing to do to save lives, sometimes divides us, states pitted against each other, rather than working with each other, vicious hate crimes against Asian-Americans, who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and turned into scapegoats.
“At this very moment, many of them, our compatriots, are on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives, and yet they are still forced to live in fear for their lives simply by walking the streets of the United States. .
That's wrong.
He is anti-American.
And it must stop, "he added.
Hours before Biden's speech, two Democratic lawmakers reintroduced legislation in the House and Senate calling for expedited review of pandemic-related hate crimes.
Representative Grace Meng of New York, who sponsored the bill in the House, said she hopes the legislation will address the "disgusting pattern of hatred" faced by Asian Americans since the beginning of the pandemic.
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