In light of the increase in hate crimes against asian-americans over the past year and especially after the shootings in atlanta, we’ve compiled a list of links that hopefully can inform, help, and protect our communities. if you have any additional resources to share, please feel free to email us.
asian americans advancing justice | chicago
asian americans advancing justice | chicago is a pan-asian, non-partisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to build power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. advancing justice | chicago combines grassroots base-building, advocacy, and civic engagement to build power, strengthening our ability to hold elected officials accountable to a progressive, community-driven agenda to move us towards racial equity. advancing justice | chicago is an affiliate of asian americans advancing justice. the members of advancing justice work as equal and independent partners under one name to provide a unified, powerful voice to advance justice for all asian americans and marginalized communities across the nation.
bystander intervention training
since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, we have seen a sharp rise in anti-asian harassment across the country, with illinois being the 3rd ranked state in number of reported incidents. muslims, south asians, and middle eastern americans have faced discrimination and harassment almost 20 years after the 9/11 tragedy. when attacks towards asians and asian americans started making the news, it became clear to us that the same trends we saw during 9/11 of scapegoating, blame, possible violence, and loss of business will affect our communities long term due to covid-19. To combat the current rise in harassment and discrimination and to also proactively prepare for the future increase of hate incidents, Advancing Justice | Chicago is partnering with New York-based nonprofit Hollaback! and CAIR-Chicago to plan and implement an aggressive scaling up of locally-led bystander hate incident intervention trainings for community members. We will adopt a train-the-trainer approach, starting with a core group of staff, leaders, and volunteers from existing partnerships and coalitions. These trainings are tailored for people of all identities and high school, college, and adult ages. There will be in-language adaptations for some trainings to address the unique needs of the Asian and Asian American community.
the “teaach act”
Introduced by Sen. Villivalam and Rep. Gong-Gershowitz, the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act (HB 376) will paint a more complete picture of our shared history by adding Asian American history to the Illinois School Code. Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing populations across Illinois, nearly 800,000 people as of 2017, yet our stories in history textbooks are nowhere to be found. This erases the legacies and contributions of Asian Americans throughout history, leading to a less complete understanding of US history as a whole.
“the making of asian america” by erika lee
a thoroughly researched book by university of minnesota history professor erika lee, “the making of asian america” details the history of asians in america dating back centuries. from the ny times review by oliver wang: ”Early in Erika lee’s sweeping “The Making of Asian America: A History” she suggests that Asian-Americans constantly cycle between being labeled “good Asians” versus “bad Asians,” depending on the shifting and often contradictory politics behind their immigration and settlement. We were a “despised minority” when Asian immigrants threatened 19th- and early-20th-century white labor, yet since the Cold War we’ve been described as a “model minority,” valorizing the promise of American meritocracy. The capricious ease with which those labels get swapped highlights how our precarious social position rests on our perceived utility: as cheap labor, as anti-Communist soldiers, as overachievers meant to success-shame other communities of color. In doing all of this “work,” Lee argues, Asian-Americans have redefined not only immigration politics and racial categories but also “the very essence of what it means to be American.””