Nearly 50,000 people trained to address harassment and
protect Asian American communities during ongoing surge in anti-Asian hate
Asian Americans
Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! call on community members and allies to
join the nearly 50,000 individuals already trained to stand against hatred
Washington, D.C. — In just one year, Asian Americans
Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! have trained nearly 50,000 people to
successfully and safely intervene as a bystander to stop non-violent incidents
of anti-Asian hate. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American communities
across the country have been facing a surge of hate-filled verbal and physical
threats and attacks. Advocates are calling on community members and allies to
join our community of nearly 50,000 who have already learned the skills to
stand against hatred.
Advancing Justice | AAJC and
Hollaback!’s training was adapted using Hollaback!’s 5Ds of bystander intervention methodology to
respond to the anti-Asian harassment that Asian American communities have been
experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 60-minute online training, which
is available free-of-charge, teaches the skills to safely respond to harassment
through five tactics: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay and
Direct.
By the end of 2020, thousands
of people had participated in the trainings Hollaback! And Advancing Justice |
AAJC had created to help address anti-Asian/American and xemophobic harassment,
including a training on conflict de-escalation that we launched in May and a
training for Asiam Americans who wanted to learn how to respond if they were
harassed, which we launched in June.
Then, in 2021, the news filled
with reports of violent attacks on Asian elders, followed by the tragic
shootings in Atlanta that resulted in the death of six Asian women last
month.
“Many had already been coming to
us asking ‘how can I help,’” said Emily
May, Executive Director of Hollaback! “Then as the Asian
American community faced new and amplified threats, harassment, and physical
violence, more and more people were seeking out ways to help end anti-Asian hate.
We are doing what we can to meet this moment and help people stand up for the
Asian American community.”
In 2021 alone, Advancing
Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! have trained individuals from all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our trainings
have also drawn international participants. In the month of March alone, nearly
17,000 people participated in our training sessions.
The most recent surge in
anti-Asian hate is only the latest manifestation of systemic racism that has
historically impacted the Asian American community. Anti-Asian hate is deeply
rooted and supported by white supremacist policies that feed the racism and
xenophobia Asian American communities have experienced throughout American
history. To combat anti-Asian hate, it will take a comprehensive effort to
collectively and individually recognize the ongoing crisis and work together to
be allies and advocates for ending hate against all communities of color.
“We’re heartened by the
tremendous interest in our trainings, showing us that in the face of hate,
thousands of allies and community members of different ages and backgrounds are
willing to step up to protect and show support for our communities,” said Marita Etcubañez, Senior Director of
Strategic Initiatives at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.
“It’s been a source of hope and healing for me to be able to teach about the
historical context of hate and discrimination, and share tangible ways for
people to act. And from their enthusiastic response, it’s clear that many of
the participants appreciate the training and leave feeling empowered to take
action.”
Advancing Justice | AAJC and
Hollaback! encourage everyone to take the free-of-charge bystander intervention
training to learn how to safely and successfully stand against hatred. To meet
the increased demand, the two organizations have expanded their capacity to
handle larger audiences for each training session and continue to add sessions.
Hollaback! and Advancing Justice | AAJC are committed to ensuring that every
person in this country who wants to be trained in bystander intervention, can
be trained, for free.
Paolo Montalban, the actor and singer best known for
his role in the 1997 Disney film “Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,” will
make a special appearance to co-lead the bystander intervention training on
Wednesday, April 7.
On April 8, the date that marks
the launch of the collaboration between Hollaback! and Asian Americans
Advancing Justice | AAJC, we will hold an Instagram Live at 6:00 p.m. ET to
discuss our work together over the past year and our plans for the year ahead.
For more details on our
trainings, please visit Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC’s events page or Hollaback’s page on our trainings to address anti-Asian/American and
xenophobic harassment.
