The American Ideals PAC today released possible solutions for combating anti-Asian violence. Proposed at a nationwide conversation last Thursday, the solutions are drawn from honest, if uncomfortable, assessments of the rampant, continuing crimes.
The high-profile discussion featured the following leaders and activists from across the country.
- Michelle Steel, U.S. Representative, 45th congressional district
- Ward Connerly, founder and president, American Civil Rights Institute
- Robert Woodson, founder and president, Woodson Center
- Betty Chu, former mayor and city council member, Monterey Park, California
- Ying Ma, founder and president, American Ideals PAC
- Wai Wah Chin, founding president, Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York
- Linda Yang, director, Washington Asians for Equality
The entire event can be viewed below.
Horrific violence against Asian Americans and immigrants has continued to occur across the country. Because the crimes do not fit a preferred political narrative, many in the national media and political leadership have politicized them when it is convenient and ignored them when it is not.
Speakers at our event proposed the following solutions.
- Be honest. The media needs to identify the race of the perpetrators of anti-Asian violence, especially when they are not white.
- Support law enforcement. “Defund the Police” efforts are fundamentally at odds with fighting crime, especially in vulnerable communities.
- Provide relevant data. The Justice Department should continue releasing data disclosing the percentage of violent crime committed by perpetrators of different races against victims of different races. Such data have not been made available since the 2018 reporting year.
- Strengthen civic engagement and cooperation between black and Asian communities.
Opening remarks by Ying Ma introducing this event can be viewed below.