After decades in the shadows, Asian American studies has expanded on college campuses.
Cape Breton University first-year public health students, both from India, sit in the university’s great hall in Sydney, N.S., in October 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Steve Wadden
Rather than reducing international student permits, Ottawa should actively promote the advantages of studying in less populous provinces.
People visit the Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act exhibit at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver on June 30, 2023. The exhibit features hundreds of special identity documents called C.I. certificates that were issued to Chinese residents by the Canadian government.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Author Ava Chin, a 5th generation New Yorker, traces the roots of today’s high rates of anti-Asian violence back to 19th century U.S. labour and immigration laws.
Federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said a registry of foreign agents would protect Canadians and bolster efforts to address foreign interference.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Political pressure is mounting on the federal government to launch a registry of foreign agents. But a history of racial discrimination is reason to be cautious.
In 1907, a large anti-Asian riot took place in Vancouver. Here is a colourized photo of 245 Powell St., a stop on a walking tour that retraces the steps of the angry mob.
(360 Riot Walk, Henry Tsang)
A virtual walking tour traces the route of a white mob that attacked Asian communities of Vancouver in 1907. Learning about past contexts may shed light on the recent surge in anti-Asian violence.
Dating apps like 2RedBeans and Tantan, that specifically cater to Chinese people, have become increasingly popular.
(Joshua Chun/Unsplash)
Anti-Asian memes spread on TikTok during the pandemic, and the potential for harm is real. It’s about time platforms scrutinised such ‘humour’ more closely.
Asian migrant massage workers and allies rally against Newmarket’s discriminatory licensing crackdown on their workplaces in front of Newmarket Municipal Offices.
(Friends of Chinatown Toronto)
Newmarket’s draconian use of bylaws and licensing to target and displace Asian massage workers risks taking us back to a racist past in Canadian history, where Asians were seen as moral threats.
Racial hatred is a factor in 13% of mass shootings at grocery stores.
John Normile/Getty Images
A suspect apparently motivated by a white supremacist agenda shot dead 10 shoppers. Analysis shows that mass shootings – and those at grocery stores – are on the rise.
Nathan Chen competes during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 10, 2022.
VCG via Getty Images
When Asian lives are reduced to negative stereotypes, those caricatures shape social interactions, deny Asian humanity and create the myth of the model minority.
Asian Americans have been targeted with hate crimes during the pandemic.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Social scientists find that using geography-related names or racialized framing around the coronavirus in even one news story can trigger racist stereotypes and biases.
Anti-Asian attacks killed nine people in 2021, including 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, seen in a photo held by his daughter Monthanus Ratanapakdee.
AP Photo/Terry Chea
As we ring in Lunar New Year, we need to celebrate Asian communities, their fierceness and courage; and demand bold changes for combatting anti-Asian racism and supporting well-being.
Harvesting on a Louisiana sugar plantation, 1875.
Alfred R. Waud/Library of Congress
Sugar has deep links with slavery in the US, but Black workers weren’t the only ones affected. In post-Civil War Louisiana, Chinese workers also toiled cutting and processing cane.
International students living abroad who face unpredictable pandemic travel restrictions during holidays may be feeling vulnerable, and reaching out is important.
(Shutterstock)
Peer support, opportunities to engage in responses to combat racism and bias and culturally responsive counselling are important for the mental health and well-being of international students.
Within a month of its release, South Korea’s ‘Squid Game’ has become Netflix’s most-watched original, breaking the record previously held by ‘Bridgerton’.
(Shutterstock)
Just because Asian content is currently trending, doesn’t mean anti-Asian racism and discrimination aren’t. Let’s support Asian people in accessing mental health services.
People wearing masks attend a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities in Toronto in March 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Sibo Chen, Toronto Metropolitan University; Henry Yu, University of British Columbia, and John Price, University of Victoria
Banning research ties with China, as Alberta just did, should be vetoed not only by the academic community but also the general public for its recklessness in fanning the flames of anti-Asian racism.
Members of BTS at the 61st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
(Shutterstock)