During two March 24 events, members of the Elon community gathered in person and online to discuss how hatred and violence toward Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander people across the country.
Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander people across the country and on campus are hurting in the wake of an increase in anti-Asian hatred and violence. On Thursday, members of the Elon community gathered for two events to hear firsthand from their peers and colleagues who have been impacted, and to begin a discussion about how to provide care, support and advocacy in the wake of recent hate crimes and speech.
The events follow the recent murders of eight people in Atlanta, including six Asian women, along with racially motivated incidents that have taken place across the country. The very personal discussions gave voice to the experience of AAPI students, faculty and staff as they have faced racism and xenophobia that seeks to keep them quiet.
“I am merely but one voice from the AAPI community,” said Thida Kim ’21, an international student from Cambodia who helped organize a virtual community forum Wednesday night. “Share your stories and make them loud. We shall all be heard, and with your stories, we shall work together to ensure that the next waves of AAPI students will not feel like they need to run home to seek a safe space.”
More than 100 students, faculty and staff gathered for the online forum that featured opening remarks from Kim and Chloe Yoon ’22 as well as Kiah Glenn, assistant director of the Center for Race, Ethnicity, & Diversity Education, and President Connie Ledoux Book. The discussion was centered around how recent events have impacted members of the Elon community, how the university can build bridges across AAPI communities and beyond AAPI communities, and how we — individually, as a community and as a society — can move toward racial healing.
Glenn noted the recent and rapid rise in hate crimes against AAPI individuals in the country, including physical violence and verbal harassment. AAPI women are more likely to face harassment and violence than AAPI men, and the recent incidents are not isolated, Glenn said. “This incident (in Atlanta) is part of the history, is part of how Asian American folks have been targeted in this country,” Glenn said.
Both Kim and Yoon pointed to the tight-knit nature of Asian communities, so much so that members of the community might be called “grandmother” or “grandfather,” “aunt” or “uncle” regardless of family connection. That type of societal bond made the murders in Atlanta and the ongoing violence and harassment more personal.
“The victims of the Atlanta shooting could easily have been one of our aunties or grandmas,” Kim said. “Their tragic deaths are so much more than each individual family’s pain. It is painful for the whole community, painful for the ones living today and painful for the generations to come if society fails to address these kinds of atrocious crimes.”
Seeing AAPI women as victims of violence in Atlanta was particularly painful, knowing the nature of the struggles they likely faced as immigrants to this country and members of a society that at times devalued them, Yoon said.
“I was reminded of the ability of Asian women, specifically those in America who have come from a foreign country, to suck up any backlash or racism or discrimination from American society because they wanted to give to my generation of Asian Americans,” Yoon said. “Some saw silence as a potential pathway to success. So they kept their heads down in a country that failed to respect them as equals to ensure that I could have a chance to speak up and be proud.”
Students, faculty members and staff members participating in the forum recounted how they had faced microaggressions and harassment both on campus and within the broader community. One AAPI student recounted how he feared the verbal harassment a family member may encounter just going to the grocery store, and the concern that verbal harassment would escalate to physical violence.
Looking forward, the group considered how non-AAPI members of the university community can better stand up for and support their AAPI peers, by calling out harassment they witness and being tuned into the experiences these students are facing.
“I do believe that the power and the way forward is in these stories,” said President Book. “When we are in relationship with each other, then that’s when we can clearly, as a community, see how wrong this hate and marginalization is.”
Earlier in the day, student members of the Diversity Committee of the School of Health Sciences invited fellow students, faculty and staff to the Francis Center for a thought-provoking discussion about the rise in anti-Asian violence. The “Diversi-tea” event brought the group together to listen, learn and open a dialogue about a variety of topics affecting AAPI communities.
Participants gathered in an outdoor tent and took part in small-group conversations about a history of hatred, racism and violence toward the AAPI community in America, as well as ways to address the issue. It was a timely discussion already weeks in the making when the recent killings in Georgia added even more urgency to the cause.
“We planned this event a month ago because we recognized the need for awareness, and so when the events of last week happened, we had a greater need to have our voices heard,” said Zachary Ormond, a first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student and member of the Diversity Committee.
Those in attendance were asked to be vulnerable and share their thoughts on the difficult subject to foster meaningful discussion among members of the campus community. Organizers hope these discussions spark new conversations about these issues in the days that follow.
“We never stop growing,” said Sinclair Lennon, a third-year DPT student and Diversity Committee member. “There’s always an opportunity to talk to someone who has a different perspective and to use that insight to help foster growth, and I think the best way to do that is to have open discussions with people who are different from you.”
The event Wednesday afternoon was especially meaningful to Yuan Zhuang, a second-year DPT student from China. Zhuang admits to being fearful amid a rise in anti-Asian violence over the past year, but was encouraged to see a tent full of professors and fellow students ready to start a dialogue and offer support.
“I just feel really grateful that a lot of my professors and the students can come here and support,” Zhuang said. “They have a really deep understanding about what we are encountering right now and try to support us.”