{"id":90480,"date":"2021-03-23T16:40:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T16:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=177603"},"modified":"2021-03-23T16:40:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T16:40:39","slug":"dear-educators-it-is-time-to-fight-for-asian-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/03\/23\/dear-educators-it-is-time-to-fight-for-asian-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Educators, It Is Time to Fight for Asian America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the recent increase in anti-Asian attacks<\/a> has been hard for all of us, the murderous killing spree in Atlanta<\/a> has our families, our youth, and our communities spiraling. From a Japanese teacher in Seattle\u2019s Chinatown-International District being assaulted by a man wielding a sock filled with rocks<\/a>, to the robbery and killing<\/a> of an Asian American elder in Oakland, to the elderly Asian American woman shoved and spit<\/a> on in White Plains, New York, to the punching of an Asian man in North Portland<\/a>, Oregon, these attacks both traumatize and activate us as Chinese American and Okinawan American educators personally. They connect us to our own experiences with hate in this country, and they highlight the deeply rooted history of white supremacy in violence against Asian people.<\/p>\n

The monolith that “Asians” are somehow one, single identity and image, invisibilizes the diverse racial and ethnic groups that our communities represent, and dehumanizes us both as individuals and as a collective.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is happening now is nothing new. The racism, the devaluing of life of Asian and Asian Americans, the dehumanizing of immigrant workers, the fetishism of\u2014and violence toward\u2014Asian women have been perpetuated throughout U.S. history. What\u2019s more, the monolith that “Asians” are somehow one, single identity and image, invisibilizes the diverse racial and ethnic groups that our communities represent, and dehumanizes us both as individuals and as a collective. The white supremacist \u201cmodel minority myth\u201d has perpetuated a fake hierarchy, pitting people of color against each other for an unattainable proximity to whiteness.<\/p>\n

As much of the country attempts to reflect and raise awareness, Asian and Asian American students from various states are choosing not to return to school<\/a>, disproportionately absent from hybrid classes. The rise in hate crimes has resulted in fear for their own physical safety, both in and out of the school community. Students ask:<\/p>\n