WGBH: Greater Boston Interviews Prof. Hahm on “Continued Anxiety About Racism Even As Pandemic Eases”
For Asian and Pacific Islanders, the opening of workplaces, restaurants, and cities across America brings additional anxiety that others don’t face. Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm and other community leaders discussed the cause and history of Anti-Asian hate crimes with GBH News last week.
As U.S. coronavirus numbers fall and vaccinations increase, the nation’s re-opening is proving to be a source of anxiety for many within the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. A recent AAPI Data survey shows significant fear of discrimination or attacks among the AAPI population. In for Jim Braude, Sue O’Connell was joined by Philip Chong, the president and CEO of Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. and Hyeouk Chris Hahm, a Boston University School of Social Work professor with a focus on reducing healthcare disparities among Asian American populations.
‘This violence against Asians, this discrimination against Asian, is not a new phenomenon. Every time this type of virus occurs, Asian Americans are often times and frequently victimized and scapegoated… Basically, Asian Americans do not feel the government is going to really protect them,’ Hahm said.”