Uptick in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
According to a recent report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at San Bernardino’s California State University, crimes against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) surged by nearly 150% even though overall hate crimes in the United States had fallen slightly in 2020.
These attacks are getting increasingly common in cities as cosmopolitan as New York and Los Angeles, besides a host of well-known American cities – Boston, Seattle, San Jose and Dallas. Between March and May 2020, over 800 COVID-related hate incidents were reported from 34 counties in California alone, according to the Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council.
In New York City, incidents of anti-Asian hate crime increased from three in 2019 to 28 in 2020, with the New York Police Department investigation 35 crimes this year, according to The New York Times.
Trump Era And the Pandemic
A vast majority of attacks were linked to the beginning of the pandemic, with Asian…