In a mass shooting in Atlanta on March 16th, six Asian women were killed. While we do not know exactly what led to this mass shooting, we do know that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, people in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community have been the targets of a dramatic rise in discrimination, harassment, and verbal and physical assault. In the early days of the pandemic, the actions of prominent political figures in the United States– repeatedly referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” and blaming the Chinese for the pandemic — fueled anti-Asian discrimination and xenophobia.
Asian-Americans of all ethnicities have been scapegoated, bullied, verbally attacked, and physically assaulted. Stop AAPI Hate, a website created in March 2020 to track attacks against members of Asian American Pacific Islander communities, received more than 3,795 reports of anti-Asian incidents between March 19th and August 5th. In a recent commentary published in the American Journal of Public Health, Justin Chen, MD, MPH and colleagues review the history of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States and discuss the impact of such discrimination on the health and well-being of Asian-Americans.
The webinar series, Let’s Talk! Supporting Asian and Asian American Students Through COVID-19, was organized by the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Emotional Student Wellness, the MGH Institute of Health Professions, the and the Harvard Graduate School of Education to discuss how COVID-19 impacting student mental health and well-being, offering support to students, educators, parents, activists, and allies. Recordings and slides from the webinar can be found below:
Webinar #1: Anti-Asian Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Webinar #2: Living Through a Pandemic: Understanding, Coping, and Finding Meaning
Webinar #5: Understanding and Supporting Asian International Students during COVID-19
Webinar #6: Asian American Parents: Understanding and Supporting LGBTQ+ Children
Webinar #7: Anti-Blackness and Racism in the Asian Community
Webinar #8: Asian Allyship with the Black Community
The COVID-19 pandemic will have significant negative effects on the health and emotional well-being of many Americans, and Asian Americans and other vulnerable groups are likely to be significantly impacted. The pandemic has laid bare so many societal problems and has revealed how structural racism and institutional barriers may negatively affect the health of vulnerable populations. Increased awareness of racism and its insidious harms has spurred civic and political engagement within the Asian American community, which will hopefully lead to meaningful change in the future.
Read More:
Chen JA, Zhang E, Liu CH. Potential Impact of COVID-19-Related Racial Discrimination on the Health of Asian Americans. Am J Public Health. 2020 Nov;110(11):1624-1627.
Resources:
MGH Center for Cross Cultural Student Emotional Wellness
The Asian Mental Health Collective
NY Coalition for Asian American Mental Health
Combating Anti-Asian Sentiment — A Practical Guide for Clinicians (NEJM)
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