During the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks on Asian Americans have spiked due to racism and hate. According to NBC News, hate crimes against the Asian community have increased about 150% in 2020. Recently, 6 of the 8 victims in the Atlanta Spa Shooting were of Asain descent, which leads many to believe that this event was invoked because of Asian hate.

Senior Patrick Ton believes that Asian hate crimes have gone too extreme as “they are trying to find someone to put the blame on for the pandemic.” Ton is one of many Asian Americans who feel that COVID-19 has heightened racism amongst the Asian community.

The recent hate crimes are not a surprise as the United States has a long history of xenophobia towards Asian Americans. Racism among Asian Americans dates back to the 1850s when the first Chinese immigrants came to the US during the Gold Rush fleeing away from the chaos among the Chinese economy. General hatred toward Chinese immigrants arose as many people believed they would take over the western world.

Conflict soon escalated when the United States authorized the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which prohibited Chinese immigration to the U.S. Asians were called “Yellow Perils” referring to the fear from Westerners that Asian Americans would take over their land and demolish their democracy.

Hostility continued to grow towards Asian Americans throughout the decades. The Chinese Massacre of 1871 started when a group of 500 white Americans assaulted every Chinese male and raided homes and businesses in Chinatown, Los Angeles after a dispute between two gangs.

In Wyoming, after a labor dispute between white and Chinese coal miners, white miners set 78 homes ablaze in the Chinatown of Rock Springs and left 28 Chinese miners dead which resulted in The Rock King Massacre in 1895. Anti-Chinese sentiment existed throughout America because they feared that the Chinese were “stealing” white jobs.
In 1887, a mass slaughter of Chinese miners took place in Idaho by a gang of white horse thieves. When this case was finally taken to court, the 3 men tried for the massacre were found innocent despite the testimonies and evidence against them.

In the 1940s, Japanese Americans were put into internment camps during World War II in fear that they were traitors, whereas German Americans did not experience the same treatment.

The atrocities against Asian Americans are not new, but as people reflect on past historical events and how Asian Americans were affected by them, people have become more vocal of the recent attacks and hate crimes. U.S. History teacher, Mr. Garcia felt that “we have become a society that is more tolerant and enlightened.” Although Asian American racism still exists today, the efforts in fighting for equality and justice continues.