As part of our ongoing commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and diversity, we are thrilled to host Professor Erika Lee for a #TwitterTogetherTalk on #StopAsianHate in conversation with our Head of Product, Kayvon Beykpour. We’ll share insights and resources below.

First, we asked @prof_erikalee how anti-Asian racism and violence has shown up historically.

Professor Lee: What most people don’t know, and it’s not in the textbooks, is there a vicious history of anti-Asian violence, beyond microaggressions in the United States.

Where does this racism and hate stem from?

Our country was founded as a country of slavery and colonialism. Racism directed at Asian Americans is rooted and intersects with the ways our country has treated African Americans and Native Americans as racially inferior.

What are ways we can combat the model minority myth?

1. Learn that the myth was invented to delegitimize the claims of Black activists.
2. Learn how it is false and lumps Asian groups together into a monolithic cohort.
3. Learn it has negative consequences for our communities

On Allyship:
1. Take bystander intervention training @iHollaback.
2. Talk to your family.
3. Educate yourself about Asian American history, because it’s important to see these incidents as part of systemic racism, not just something that’s happening because of the pandemic.

Thank you @prof_erikalee for joining us today as we continue our conversations about Anti-Asian violence, xenophobia, and anti-racism at large. #StopAsianHate https://twitter.com/jessp/status/1379470660401917967