“First and foremost, we have to stand up and speak out. We have to stand in solidarity with other minority groups to fight against racism and hate crimes.”
“Hate crimes have a broader effect than most other kinds of crimes,” she added. “Hate crimes victimize not only the immediate target, but also their families, communities, and, at times, the entire nation.”
Asian Americans are often invisible in US society when it comes to being regarded as victims of racism. “Most of the representation of Asians in the media is that they are model minorities, which is a myth that claims they do not experience discrimination. This representation causes many people to mistakenly believe that most Asians have achieved economic parity with Whites and therefore don’t really count as minorities at all,” said panelist Elda Tsou, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of English.