Violent attacks and other crimes against Asians and Pacific Islanders have increased dramatically in recent months all over the United States, including in our own region. The most violent of these was the murder of eight people in Atlanta on March 16, where six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. Such crimes have both frightened and shocked the entire country. In the Puget Sound area, immigrants from all parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands have long made important economic, technological, educational and cultural contributions, and, at least in the decades since the end of World War II, they have lived largely peacefully and without fear.
The Washington State China Relations Fund will explore this topic from two perspectives in a series of two webinars. In the first webinar, members of the AAPI community will share their experiences, concerns and responses to the upsurge in violence. In the second webinar, officials from the FBI, the Seattle Police Department, and other legal entities will discuss how both victims and bystanders can respond to such criminal activity safely and effectively. They will also explore community-based responses and the ability and limitations of different law enforcement techniques to combat such violence, including use of hate crime laws.
This video presents the panel discussion from the first session of the series: Community Voices and Responses. Representatives of the AAPI Community in Seattle will share their views on why there has been such an upsurge in violence and their experiences and stories about the growth of this worrying trend. Our panelists will describe how their respective communities have responded to this development and their thoughts about support from our government institutions and the wider community as a whole.
This event is produced by the Washington State China Relations Fund (www.wscrf.org), a 501(c)3 non-profit sister organization operated by the Washington State China Relations Council (www.wscrc.org).