A Chicago group aims to better track anti-Asian hate in the Midwest

The Anti-Hate Action Center places ads on public transit spaces to collect better data and raise awareness about anti-Asian hate.

Stop Asian Hate Chicago Rally
Woman holds a sign and attends a rally to support stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hate at the Logan Square Monument in Chicago, Saturday, March 20, 2021. A diverse crowd gathered to demand justice for the victims of the Atlanta spa shooting for an end to racism, xenophobia and misogyny. Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press
Stop Asian Hate Chicago Rally
Woman holds a sign and attends a rally to support stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hate at the Logan Square Monument in Chicago, Saturday, March 20, 2021. A diverse crowd gathered to demand justice for the victims of the Atlanta spa shooting for an end to racism, xenophobia and misogyny. Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press

A Chicago group aims to better track anti-Asian hate in the Midwest

The Anti-Hate Action Center places ads on public transit spaces to collect better data and raise awareness about anti-Asian hate.

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A local group is working to encourage residents in the city and beyond to report anti-Asian hate by launching a new advertising campaign on Chicago Transit Authority trains, stations and buses.

The ads — in English, Chinese, Korean and Tagalog — say, “Experienced hate? Report it here,” and feature a QR code that leads to forms. The Anti-Hate Action Center, which is part of the Chicago-based social service agency Chinese American Service League (CASL), is behind the public awareness efforts during a time when anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise.

Abbey Eusebio, the center’s manager, said better tracking and more public awareness are needed in this region because Asian American communities are more spread out and isolated.

“We’re not as concentrated in these different parts of the city as New York and parts of the West Coast,” Eusebio said. “That really contributes to the struggle” in data collection and connecting victims to resources.

According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes rose by 339% between 2020 and 2021. Incidents began to rise, locally and nationally, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly after former President Donald Trump started calling the coronavirus “the Chinese virus.” More recently, states like Texas, Florida and Virginia have proposed legislation that bans Chinese immigrants from purchasing land.

Also on Wednesday, a new report from the national group Stop AAPI Hate showed that nearly half of Asian American and Pacific Islanders nationwide say they have experienced illegal discrimination, including being fired or penalized at work, denied service at stores or restaurants, bullied at school or denied a home purchase or rental.

Melissa Shannon, a research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago, which conducted the survey for Stop AAPI Hate, said about 55% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Midwest experienced discrimination or unfair treatment. However, only 8% reported a potential violation.

Shannon also said 67% of Asian Americans in the Midwest said new civil rights laws are needed to reduce discrimination against their communities.

“The findings for the Midwest are in line with what we’re seeing at the national level,” Shannon said.

Eusebio, with the Anti-Hate Action Center, said there is a distinction between anti-Asian hate incidents and crimes. The majority of cases that Asian Americans experience are not crimes, meaning that police don’t investigate discriminatory behavior or enforce civil rights violations. However, data for both are lacking because of a lack of reporting among Asian Americans due to language barriers and distrust of government.

“The community has voiced to us that they don’t feel that something will be done when they do report [incidents], and if they do, that the responsiveness is not the greatest,” she said.

Eusebio said CASL can stand in the gap by giving free legal advice, providing mental health support at its behavioral health clinic and helping victims report crimes to law enforcement.

She said the Anti-Hate Action Center is reaching out to other organizations to reach Asian populations in the city and suburbs, and not just Chinese residents but those of other ethnicities. Recently, the group partnered with KAN-WIN, an agency that helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Hyeyoon Chung, KAN-WIN’s multilingual advocacy program manager, said her organization recently co-hosted a workshop on sexual violence with the Anti-Hate Action Center.

She said there is a need for discussion around the intersectionality of gender and race, especially after the Atlanta spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asians, in 2021.

“We’re kind of always carrying fear in our daily lives as Asian women in the United States,” Chung said, adding that for undocumented residents, the fear of reporting incidents is even greater.

She said she hopes the Anti-Hate Action Center’s campaign — and the data it seeks to collect — will result in more education and awareness about anti-Asian hate and its effect on communities.

Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter on WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities desk. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang.