Anti-Asian crimes more than doubled while hate crimes against Black people increased by 87%, state reports reveal

Hate crimes against Asians in California more than doubled in 2020, as part of an overall 31% surge in hate-based crimes, according to a pair of new reports by California’s attorney general.

The increase in anti-Asian crimes was fueled by rhetoric, including that of Donald Trump, blaming Asian communities for the spread of Covid-19 in the United States, the reports said.

“For too many, 2020 wasn’t just about a deadly virus, it was about an epidemic of hate,” said the attorney general, Rob Bonta. “The facts here are clear: there was a surge in anti-Asian violence correlated with the words of leaders who sought to divide us when we were at our most vulnerable.”

While the reports highlighted the stunning increase in often-overlooked violence against Asians, hate crimes against Black people in California increased by 87% as well, and made up the largest number of events counted in the report – 456 of the total 1,330 hate crimes reported in 2020. The number of anti-Asian crimes jumped from 43 in 2019 to 89 in 2020 – a total increase of 107%.

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US President Joe Biden has signed a law that aims to address a rising number of anti-Asian attacks. What's behind the hatred?

An elderly Thai immigrant dies after being shoved to the ground. A Filipino-American is slashed in the face with a box cutter. A Chinese woman is slapped and then set on fire. Eight people are killed in a shooting rampage across three Asian spas in one night.

These are just examples of recent violent attacks on Asian Americans, part of a surge in abuse since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

From being spat on and verbally harassed to incidents of physical assault, there have been thousands of reported cases in recent months.

Advocates and activists say these are hate crimes, and often linked to rhetoric that blames Asian people for the spread of Covid-19.

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To understand trends in coronavirus-related, anti-Asian racism, the Virulent Hate Project at the University of Michigan reviewed 4,337 news articles published between January 1 and December 31, 2020. We identified 1,023 incidents of anti-Asian racism, which included 679 incidents of anti-Asian harassment and vandalism and 344 incidents of stigmatizing and discriminatory statements, images, policies, and proposals. Asian and Asian American people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders experienced racist harassment, but women and people of Chinese descent experienced most of the attacks.

Anti-Asian incidents peaked in March and April 2020, and harassment occurred across the United States, with incidents happening most frequently in businesses, on public transit, and on streets. In the incidents for which there were reported details about the individuals who were the source of anti-Asian harassment, discrimination, and stigmatization, the majority of the offenders were identified as male, white, and, in the case of politicians, affiliated with the Republican Party.

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