Issue 03: Stop Asian Hate

Issue 03

Stop Asian Hate

February 28, 2021

Dear Friends of LAAUNCH,

We hope you and your families are safe and healthy during these turbulent times. Just last night, six Asian American women were tragically shot and killed in the Atlanta, GA area. The continued violence and racism against Asian Americans have reached their highest levels in our lifetime and must STOP. The facts are shocking and unacceptable:

3,795 incidents of anti-Asian hate were recorded by Stop AAPI Hate in the US from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Of these, 190 accounts involved Asian Americans over 60 years old.
Anti-Asian hate crimes increased from 2019 to 2020 by 833%, 114%, 133%, 150% and 200% in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Jose and Philadelphia, respectively.
According to a Pew study in July 2020, 31% and 26% of Asian Americans have been “subject to slurs or jokes” or “feared someone might threaten or physically attack them,” respectively.

At LAAUNCH, we are developing programs to combat the underlying causes—anger, fear, and ignorance—behind these hate crimes. Our STAATUS Index (discussed below) addresses the negative stereotypes leading to racism towards Asian Americans. Our interview with filmmaker Crystal Kwok raises awareness of the long history of race relations among the Asian, Black and White communities in Georgia since the 1920s and 1930s.

Out of crisis comes opportunity. We are pleased to announce that Eric Toda, Global Head of Social Marketing at Facebook, has agreed to join the Board of Directors for LAAUNCH. Eric has used his "megaphone" on CNBC, CBS, AdWeek, and other national media to speak out against the rash of anti-Asian hate crimes and to take action. We welcome Eric's voice, insights, and media experience as we build LAAUNCH into a leading advocate for our community. A more detailed press and media release will be forthcoming, but we wanted to share this exciting news with all of you.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Warmest regards,

The LAAUNCH Team
Norman Chen, Ming & Wah Chen, David Ting, Richard Ting, Ed King

More articles in

Issue 03

LAAUNCH Founders' Circle Campaign

We have established a Founders’ Circle Campaign with the goal of raising $1,000,000 by the end of the year.

STAATUS Index

The STAATUS (“Social Tracking of Asian Americans Throughout the US”) Index.

Asian American Spotlight - Crystal Kwok

Following Black History Month and the need for greater dialogue among communities of color, we interviewed filmmaker Crystal Kwok and discussed her thought-provoking documentary, Blurring the Color Line: Chinese in the Segregated South.

Top 5 Asian American News Stories - March 2021

This month's news stories contain a mix of serious and more lighthearted fare. Anti-Asian racist incidents continue to soar, and last night's terrible news about the six Asian American women killed in a mass shooting in Atlanta is the latest escalation of increasingly violent anti-Asian hate crimes. At the very least, we see more and more people speaking out against this violence, from President Biden to Dave Roberts, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Long viewed as the quiet model minority, the ability to use our cellphones to document cases of racism and prejudice against us and post them on social media is the latest example of "receipt culture," showing the world what we've long experienced when traditional media is less focused on this issue. Lastly, two recent films produced, directed, and written by, and starring Asian American actors, Minari and Boogie, continue to highlight the artistic talent of our community. We invite you to read these curated stories and share your thoughts.