Told to go back to your country.

Accused of spreading COVID-19.

Spat upon.

For Asian American and Asian people in the U.S., COVID-19 is far from the only danger of the worldwide pandemic.

As anti-Asian sentiments and incidents of violence associated with the pandemic increased in the U.S., Russell Jeung co-founded Stop AAPI Hate with the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University in March 2020.

On Tuesday, Jeung, a sociologist and professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, gave the keynote at this year’s UW–Madison Diversity Forum — “Ending Asian Hate: The Asian American Community Responds.”

“I’m still sort of stupefied how much anger and hate is directed towards Asians,” Jeung said. “It’s really chilling and has been really painful for me.”

Stop AAPI Hate tracks COVID-19-related hate, violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, develops community resources and advocates for policy interventions to end racism. During the pandemic, more than 9,000 incidents have been reported, with Jeung pointing out that it’s only a fraction of what people experience.

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