To help combat the rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes, here are a collection of history reads to help understand some trends and structures behind these trends, educational and protest events, and volunteer organizations in Philadelphia. Additionally, here are a list of mental health resources for those who need them.

Rallies

Philly Rally for Solidarity: Join other community members and organizers from marginalized communities to protest violence against Asians and Asian Americans on Thursday, March 25th at 3:00PM – 6:00PM. Social distancing and double masks required. Also, there will likely be a police presence. Links to follow online will likely be published soon.

History

Crisis and Violence: Dr. Siu theorizes that Anti-Asian violence may be due to the “deeply ingrained notion that Asian Americans are ‘outsiders’ and therefore (don’t belong) in the US” which “fuels anti-Asian sentiments and attacks during moments of social crisis or disruption”. To learn about the history of some of these spikes, read about: McCarthyism and Chinese Americans, Bellingham and Sikhs, Vietnamese Refugees and Post Vietnam War.

Structure and Violence: Simeon Man argues that Anti-Asian violence is not just observed in episodes or acts against individuals, but also is a part of a larger system. To learn more about the history of anti-Asian racism, and Asian American activist organizations in the 1980s-1990s, read his publication (Man, 2020)

Volunteering

Here are some Philadelphia organizations that support Asian American and Asian that you can volunteer at.

Chinese Immigrant Family Wellness Initiative supports mental health education and needs volunteers to help with community outreach, mental health and wellness workshops, and event planning.

Philly Asian Queer (PAQ) is a volunteer, social organization that strives to engage queer (LGBTQIA+), Asian Pacific Islander (API) people through advocacy, social and supportive programming.

Asian Americans United supports advocacy needs of immigrant, refugee and non-English speaking students and their families. Areas of interest for volunteers include immigrant rights/community resistance, language access, neighborhood development, and building bridges across racial divides in the broader Philadelphia community. If interested in advocacy volunteering, email aau@aaunited.org.

Bystander Training

Trainings will teach you to recognize, document, and intervene to help people experiencing racism and xenophobia. Asian Americans Advancing Justice has several upcoming bystander training events including one on Wednesday, March 24th at 6:00PM.