Kami Rieck
Boston University Statehouse Program
BOSTON When Rep. Tackey Chan, one of the first Asian-American Massachusetts House members, heard high school students in his district talk about discrimination they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, he related.
Strangers shouted racial slurs at him and others asked if he ate cats or dogs, said Chan, D-Quincy.
“In government, it continues to be a challenge for Asian-Americans to be recognized as an important part of our community,” he said.
Discrimination and attacks against Asian-Americans have surged in the past year in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when former President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus. These anti-Asian racist incidents include Massachusetts.