Berkeley Conversations panel discusses anti-Asian violence
Eliana Marcu/Staff
A virtual panel event featured three Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, scholars and was moderated by Raka Ray, UC Berkeley Division of Social Sciences dean. During the panel, the scholars discussed anti-Asian violence, inclduing the increase in racism against members of the AAPI community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, scholars discussed the history and current rise in anti-Asian violence during a virtual Berkeley Conversations and Matrix on Point event Thursday.
Titled “The long history and present surge of anti-Asian violence,” the event was moderated by Raka Ray, UC Berkeley’s dean of the Division of Social Sciences, in light of the recent shooting of AAPI individuals in Atlanta and the surge of racism against the AAPI community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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It began with Kelly Yang’s three children, who started fielding questions about whether they had COVID-19 because they’re Chinese. Coronavirus tag ensued, and her son was somehow always “it.”
Then Yang, an author who moved to the U.S. from China at age 6, taught a free online writing class for teens. One student called her a Chinese virus in the middle of the session.
But the most upsetting incident occurred last spring, at a grassy park near her former East Bay home. A woman charged toward her, angry that Yang’s labradoodle wasn’t on a leash. “There are signs everywhere. Can you read?” the woman said, and used a racial slur.