Asian Americans Demand ‘Concrete Action’ to Address Violence and Discrimination

A national coalition of Asian American organizations is calling on the Biden Administration to take “concrete action” to stem anti-Asian racism and violence. “Though President Joe Biden has repeatedly condemned anti-Asian hate and has proposed measures to address the problem, thus far his administration has failed to fully identify and properly address crucial issues of longstanding violence and racism against Asian Americans,” the coalition lamented in a statement issued last week.

Spearheaded by Asian Industry B2B (in California) and Washington Asians for Equality (in Washington State), this national coalition urges the Biden administration to take the following action:

1. Reinstate the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Yale University regarding discrimination against Asian-American applicants in undergraduate admissions, and denounce racial preferences and other systemically racist practices commonly used to reduce the number of Asian-American students at educational institutions.
2. Publicly state — through President Biden — that all perpetrators of violent attacks against Asian Americans must be condemned and punished, regardless of the perpetrator’s race. Anti-Asian racism has existed in America for many years and did not begin during the COVID-19 pandemic. On too many occasions, we as a country and a society have failed to fight such racism with adequate vigor, commitment, or candor.
3. Appoint Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the former Attorney General of California, to work with local and state law enforcement, especially in urban areas, to strengthen police protection for Asian Americans in their communities.

“Stopping racism and violence against Asian Americans will require courage and moral clarity,” said Linda Yang, director of Washington Asians for Equality. “We hope the Biden Administration will rise to the occasion by not only speaking honestly about anti-Asian hate crimes, even when it might be uncomfortable, but also taking real action to tackle problems that contribute to anti-Asian discrimination, whether in America’s higher education or on the streets in our local communities.”

“In recent months, far too many horrific, wanton attacks against Asian Americans have occurred in this country. They are grotesque and they must end,” said Marc Ang, president of Asian Industry B2B. “It is unconscionable that in multiple cities, the elderly feel they cannot walk down the street safely in broad daylight and ordinary people cannot take a subway train without being assaulted. Law and order must be upheld to prevent further attacks on the most vulnerable, and we call on the Biden Administration to defend law and order and help protect Asian Americans.”

The coalition is comprised of more than two dozen groups and officials, including the Chinese American Parents Association of Northern Virginia. On Tuesday, the coalition held a national press conference calling for moral clarity and real action from the Biden Administration.

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