One Year After the Atlanta Shooting: Where is the Asian Community Now?

On March 16, 2021, a 21-year-old white man, Robert Aaron Long, went on a killing spree where he killed 8 people at three different spa locations in the Atlanta area. Six of the killed victims were women of the Asian descent, sparking outrage and worry among the Asian communities across the United States. According to New York Times, in his first prime-time speech, President Biden had said, "At this very moment, so many of them - our fellow Americans - they're on the front lines of this pandemic, trying to save lives, and still they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America. It's wrong, it's un-American, and it must stop." A year later, where are we now?

In a collected report from National Public Radio, the FBI had reported an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes from 2019. From the group Stop AAPI Hate, they have tracked 11,000 hate incidents, harassment situations, and violent attacks against Asian Americans between March 2020 and December 2021. The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) collected data and determined that "74% of Asian American and Pacific Islander women reported experiencing racism and discrimination over the last year, and 53% said the perpetrator was a stranger or someone they didn't know." A year later and the Asian community, specifically women, are still afraid and feared for their lives to run simple errands or even take a step outside.

While many of the members of the AAPI community are terrified to leave the house as the chances of being hated, discriminated against, or attacked are still extremely high, it is possible for you to STAND UP and protect those around you, your friends, families, or even strangers. The time to protect is NOW.