‘Hate Towards Anyone Cannot And Will Not Be Tolerated’
As the number of hate crimes against Asian Americans has increased, Rockland County legislators are calling for public schools to provide Asian American History and Civic Impact Studies to elementary and high school students.
Voting unanimously, legislators adopted a resolution that requests the New York State Legislature to pass a bill that amends state Education Law to require the Asian American studies to be taught.
“Education is an important tool in the effort to make people of different backgrounds aware of the contributions of others and to send a message that hate towards anyone cannot and will not be tolerated,” Rockland County Legislator Aney Paul said.
Legislator Paul, an Asian American who was born and raised in India, sponsored the County Legislature’s resolution.
Hate crime statics regarding Asian Americans are shocking and while no exact motivation is known in every case, experts cite the COVID-19 pandemic as a contributing factor.
Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing hate incidents towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, received a total of 10,905 reports between March 19, 2020 – when the virus began its steady spread across the U.S. – and Dec. 31, 2021, with 42.5 percent of the incidents reported in 2020 and 57.5 percent reported last year.
Hate incidents include everything from verbal harassment to physical assaults and about half of all of the incidents reported to AAPI took place in a public space, including streets, public transit and parks.
In the New York area, news reports of such attacks have increased, with the attacks often very violent and sometimes fatal. Chinese Americans have experienced the most hate, but other Asian Americans, including Korean, Filipino, Japanese and Vietnamese Americans have also been targeted because of their race and/or ethnicity. Just since December:
• On Dec. 31, a Chinese immigrant died after an attack in April that police said was a hate crime left him in a coma.
• In January, a woman of Asian descent was shoved to her death in front of a subway train in Times Square
• In February, a woman of Asian descent was stabbed to death inside her Lower Manhattan apartment by a man who had followed her into her building
• Also in February, a woman of Asian descent who was sweeping her sidewalk when she was hit in the head by a man with a rock in November, died of her injuries.
• Last week, a man was arrested after attacking seven women of Asian descent in Manhattan during a two-hour spree on Feb. 27.
• Numerous other incidents have included punching, slashing and other crimes.
New York State Senate Bill 6359 & Assembly Bill 7260 would amend state Education curriculum so that children are taught about the historical contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, hopefully leading to greater respect and understanding regarding both cultures. If adopted, Gov. Kathy Hochul would need to sign it into law. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed similar legislation ensuring such information is being taught in New Jersey schools.
“With terrifying frequency, there are ongoing reports about attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders simply because of the way they look or speak,” Legislator Paul said. “We have to put an end to these hateful incidents and awareness of others can go a long way to improving relationships between all people.”
