Funds will support new research into a recent rise in hate incidents
The Stop AAPI Hate coalition and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (AASC) have received $1.4 million in funding from California to support ongoing research and community programs that address rising anti-Asian hate and the broader impact of COVID-19 on the Asian American community.
From the $1.4 million in funding granted to the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, $300,000 will be distributed to support Stop AAPI Hate’s tracking of hate incidents and advocacy. Cynthia Choi of Chinese for Affirmative Action, Manjusha Kulkarni of Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council and Professor Russell Jeung of San Francisco State University established the online Stop AAPI Hate reporting center to gather incidents of and respond to racial discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community sparked by COVID-19.
“In the past year, we have seen that it is absolutely critical to invest in tracking the number of hate incidents against Asian Americans that are taking place. Documenting and analyzing the attacks — both in California and across the country — has enabled us to draw attention to this crisis, ensure that our community is not ignored, and advocate on its behalf,” said the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition.
The funding allocated to Stop AAPI Hate will support the coalition’s efforts to address the devastating impact of anti-Asian hate, including tracking and documenting incidents in order to proactively prevent future incidents from occurring. The funding will also allow the coalition to expand the resources it can offer directly to impacted community members and families, as well as establish new partnerships with organizations, businesses and governments to develop long-lasting policy and community-based solutions to hate and violence.
The funding allocated to the UCLA Asian American Studies Center will enable it to continue its commitment to research into subjects like housing and employment, building off previous work from a variety of affiliated faculty including UCLA urban planning scholar Paul Ong, who has examined how the pandemic has impacted Asian-owned businesses, homeowners and renters. Funding will also support the COVID-19 Multilingual Resources website developed by faculty from the Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The center’s website translates COVID-19 medical facts into dozens of languages to advance efforts to get evidence-based information to people who are often isolated by language barriers from public health messages.
“COVID-19 has had devastating and disparate impacts on many Asian American and Pacific Islander communities alongside other communities of color,” said Karen Umemoto, holder of the Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director’s Chair of the Asian American Studies Center. “With this funding, we can produce research to help with more-targeted recovery efforts in the hardest-hit communities. It will also critically support our TranslateCOVID.org website, as we work to get important fact-based vaccines and other life-saving information to non-English speakers.”
The budget allocation for Stop AAPI Hate and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center was championed by California Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Budget Committee; Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance); State Senator Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento); and other members of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. Governor Newsom signed the bill to finalize the budget allocation on Feb. 23.
“The history of the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the United States has been punctuated by times of racism and hate … most recently, attacks and murder of API seniors incited by racist rhetoric about the COVID pandemic,” said Assemblymember Pan, Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.
“New state funding allows the data gathering to continue, and the research will ultimately lead us to solutions that will make all communities safer,” said Assemblymember Ting.
Representatives from Stop AAPI Hate and the Asian American Studies Center expressed gratitude for the support from the entire Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), chair of the senate committee on budget and fiscal review, and Governor Newsom.
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About Stop AAPI Hate:
Stop AAPI Hate is a national coalition aimed at addressing anti-Asian discrimination amid the pandemic, was founded by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies Department. Between March 19 and December 31, 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has received 2,808 reported incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans across the U.S. Visit www.stopaapihate.org
