Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
For Asian American New Yorkers, the outsized mental strain of living through the coronavirus pandemic has been exacerbated by a commensurate rise in anti-Asian sentiment. The bias swept into our region in large part due to xenophobic rhetoric connecting COVID-19 to Asian Americans, including then-President Donald Trump’s habit of blaming the virus on China.
This presentation focuses on the writings and performances of Dr. Anandibai Joshee, who graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1886 and became the first Indian woman to gain a degree in medicine. Param Ajmera investigates how Anandibai used the influence provided by her university to develop relationships with the American feminist movement to gain support for the social and economic upliftment of women in India.
The author drew racist stereotypes in children’s books and political cartoons — but a reckoning has been delayed because of historically ingrained anti-Asian racism, experts say.
In his address Thursday night, Biden said there have been “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans, who’ve been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”
“The bill also provides resources for communities to come together and fight intolerance and hate. This is no less than victims deserve,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement.
Hate crime data don’t capture the full scope of racist incidents against Asian Americans, experts say, so nonprofit groups have been filling the gaps.