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Anti-Asian hate crimes surged in early 2021, CSUSB study says
CNN
May 6, 2021
Reported hate crimes against Asians in 16 of the nation's largest cities and counties are up 164% since this time last year, according to a new study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State University San Bernardino.
In analyzing preliminary data obtained from over a dozen of the nation's largest police jurisdictions, researchers identified 95 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to authorities in the first quarter of 2021, compared with 36 reported incidents in the first quarter of 2020.
According to Professor Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB, researchers noticed spikes in anti-Asian hate crimes that they believe were associated with a "political invective increase," as well as the amplification of stigmatizing language by former president Donald Trump.
Asked about the reason for the early 2021 spike, Levin described the "highly charged debates about masks, vaccine and the economy" as being at play, and said "the stereotypes about COVID that bloomed last year have had another fertile season" as anti-Asian stereotypes were resurfaced by those who promulgated them in 2020.
The CNN report was picked up world-wide by other news media outlets.
Read the complete article at “Anti-Asian hate crimes surged in early 2021, study says.”
CSUSB report: Anti-Asian hate crimes rose 164% in first quarter of 2021
Asian Journal
May 5, 2021
A new study by the Center for the Study of Hate in Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino released on Saturday, May 1 — the first day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — found that in 16 of the largest and most-populated cities and counties in the country, hate crimes against the Asian American community rose from 36 reported crimes to 95 reported crimes, a 164% overall increase.
The crime statistics from 2021’s first quarter were compared to that of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first forced governments to shut down and pandemic-related anti-Asian hate racism and attacks were beginning to percolate across the country.
Professor Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB who co-authored the first quarter report, told CBS News last week that the rise in reported incidents may be attributed to more awareness of the issue. Levin added that this current wave of anti-Asian hate crimes is a major “phenomenon in the Asian American community that is of historic significance.”
Read the complete article at “Report: Anti-Asian hate crimes rose 164% in first quarter of 2021.”
CSUSB center cited in report of San Francisco police charging man in stabbing of elderly Asian women
UPI
May 6, 2021
A man in San Francisco was charged with stabbing two elderly Asian women at a bus stop, but the attack has not yet been determined a hate crime.
Violent attacks against Chinese and other Asian Americans have skyrocketed in the United States in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. According to new research from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State University San Bernardino, hate crimes in the 16 biggest cities and counties in the country are up 164% year-on-year, CNN reported Wednesday.
Brian Levin, the center's director, attributed the rise in crimes in 2021 to "highly charged debates about masks, vaccines and the economy."
Read the complete article at “San Francisco police charge man in stabbing of elderly Asian women.”
The CSUSB Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism’s latest research on hate crimes against Asian Americans was cited in the following:
Anti-Asian hate crimes soared in early 2021, study finds
The Washington Times
May 6, 2021
Reported hate crimes against Asian-Americans in the nation’s 16 largest cities jumped 164% in early 2021, according to a new study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino.
The study found 95 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to the police in the first quarter of 2021, up from 36 reported incidents in the first quarter of 2020.
“This year’s first quarter increase follows a historic surge in Anti-Asian hate crime that started last year,” researchers wrote. “Last year’s first spike occurred in March and April amidst a rise in COVID cases, a World Health Organization pandemic declaration, and an increase in political and online stigmatizing of Asians.”
Former US prosecutors and over 40 firms are uniting to offer free legal help to fight Asian hate
NextShark
May 5, 2021
A collective of over 40 law firms and large company law departments in the U.S. has launched a national pro bono initiative to help victims of anti-Asian hate and prevent further incidents of violence.
The Alliance for Asian American Justice, or simply the Alliance, will coordinate and use pro bono resources to support victims in obtaining legal remedies — from providing legal counsel to working with police in keeping perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
Nearly 3,800 anti-Asian incidents have been reported between March 2020 and February 2021, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that monitors the phenomenon. More recently, police data analyzed by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino showed an increase of 169% in anti-Asian hate crimes in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year.
NYPD seeks help identifying suspect who repeatedly punched Asian man at Queens subway
NextShark
May 5, 2021
The NYPD needs help in identifying a suspect who allegedly assaulted an Asian man inside a Queens subway station last month.
What happened: The unidentified man approached the 22-year-old victim while inside the Queens Plaza subway station at around 1:30 p.m. on April 18, according to amNY.
Rising crime rate in NYC: Police data compiled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB revealed that New York City is the most populous city in the U.S. with the highest recorded bias crimes against Asian Americans in the first quarter of 2021.
Two older Asian American women waiting at a bus stop were stabbed by a stranger
BuzzFeed
May 5, 2021
Two older Asian American women waiting at a San Francisco bus stop on Tuesday afternoon were approached by a man with a knife and stabbed — the latest in a string of violent attacks on Asian Americans across the US. Police later arrested a suspect, a 55-year-old San Francisco resident. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the incident has not been ruled a hate crime, but cautioned that the investigation is ongoing.
In recent months, there has been a slate of unprovoked and racist attacks against Asian people in several cities, sparking fear among Asian American communities. In March, six Asian women were killed in a mass shooting targeting spas in the Atlanta, Georgia area, leading to an outpouring of grief and anger.
Research from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino found that anti-Asian attacks in large US cities and counties increased by 164% in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same time last year. Another report from March also found an uptick of hate incidents against Asian Americans, though there is wide consensus that these numbers are undercounted because such incidents often go unreported.
City of Boston, MBTA unveil digital billboards celebrating Asian American strength, resilience
Boston Globe
May 5, 2021
Amid Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, dozens of digital billboards around Greater Boston boast slogans supporting the country’s largest diaspora.
Stand with us, some read. We belong here. Protect our elders.
The billboards’ theme of “We Are More” aims to go beyond stereotypes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
It’s also a callback to the staggering rise in Anti-Asian violence and harassment over the past 18 months. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against the community have increased by 60 percent in Boston between the beginning of 2020 and 2021, according to The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.
Denver couple creates safety kits for Asian Americans as violence against the community increases
ABC 7 Denver
May 6, 2021
The owners of Third Culture Bakery and Matcha Café recently created safety kits to help Asian Americans who are concerned about the recent escalation in violent incidents against the community. Directions for the kits come in multiple languages including Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
According to The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino, hate crimes against Asian Americans in 16 of the nation's largest cities are up 164% over the last year.
Ninety-five incidents have been reported already in just the first four months of 2021.
Gun ownership will not make Asian Americans safer
MomsRising Education Fund
May 5, 2021
The March 16 Atlanta mass shooting killed 8 people, 6 of whom were women of Asian American descent. That was followed by the Indianapolis shooting in April, where 4 of the 8 victims were members of the Sikh community. These recent shootings happened in the context of surging anti-Asian hate crimes. The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism found that starting from the first quarter of 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 169 percent.
The fight against AAPI hate is a long one, but it’s starting to see some money and corporate support
AL DÍA
May 5, 2021
Anti-Asian sentiments are not a novel phenomenon in the United States, but of late, discrimination, harassment and violence against Asian-Americans has been steadily increasing at an alarming rate since the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic.
A new compilation of hate crime data has revealed that the increase in anti-Asian attacks is not slowing down. The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino, compared data from the first quarter of 2021 to the same time period in 2020 across 15 major cities.
Their research shows that hate crimes have surged by 169%, a clear continuation of the “historic” spike in such attacks that began last year. Much of these attacks have occurred in New York City, where Asian-American and Pacific Islanders make up roughly 14% of the population.
Man arrested for attacking two Asian women in their 60s with a cinder block at liquor store
Independent/Yahoo! News
May 5, 2021
A man has been arrested after he was caught on security camera footage brutally beating two Asian women with a cinder block as they were trying to close up a liquor store in Baltimore, Maryland.
The attack came after a new report released by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University that said that hate crimes against Asian Americans had surged 169 per cent during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year.
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”