ANTI-ASIAN AMERICAN HATE
The Wing Luke Museum denounces the violence against Asian Americans and expresses our sympathy and solidarity with the victims and families of those who have suffered from hate crimes in Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, and all across the country.
Violent assaults feel especially poignant after years of xenophobia fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the former president’s racist rhetoric, and the economic devastation that immigrant communities nationwide, like Chinatowns, have had to face.
As Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), our strength lies in solidarity with QTBIPOC communities working to stop violence in all forms. We must reflect on the ways in which our communities respond to anti-Asian hate and seek out solutions that center with the humanity of our collective QTBIPOC communities. We believe we can achieve safety and continue to advance racial and social equity through educational resources and investments in our communities.
As storytellers, the museum is constantly learning and pushing to consider the richness and importance of the American story. We understand that all our histories and futures are intertwined and acknowledge the biases of the model minority myth and anti-Blackness within our own community. A lack of understanding of these realities only reinforces the discriminatory and colonial powers that pit QTBIPOC communities against each other. Through transformative and lasting educational work with public and private schools and with museum guests, our tours and workshops support the museum’s vision of long-term community-centered solutions to help educate all Americans about Asian Pacific American history, cultures, and experiences.
As a museum, we commit to and invest in creating space and opportunity for cross-racial healing and education that undoes racism in the museum field as well as in our communities. Our unique Community Advisory Committee (CAC) exhibition process allows for different perspectives to be heard and uplifted with past exhibits around redlining and APA feminist movements. Our programs like Understanding History, Open for Takeout, and It Happened Here allow for open dialogue around relevant and timely topics highlighting historians, educators, artists, and community members.
Learn more about ways we can support QTBIPOC communities. We encourage individuals who have experienced hate crimes to report it.
MUSEUM PUBLIC STATEMENTS
Wing Luke Museum Calls for Cross-Cultural Solidarity in Response to Hate Crime (September 20, 2023)
Anti-Asian Hate Crimes (March 10, 2021)
NATIONAL RESOURCES
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
LOCAL RESOURCES
Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area, (CIDBIA)
Cecilia Liang, Public Safety Coordinator for CIDBIA
ADDITIONAL READING
New-York Historical Society Presents Confronting Hate 1937–1952 (American Jewish Committee)
The Chinatown ID renaissance will defeat hate, Joël Barraquiel Tan, Op-ed to The Seattle Times, September 27, 2023
BEAUTY OF US
SEATTLE ASIAN AMERICAN NATIVE HAWAIIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER WOMEN ARTISTS UNITED is a visual campaign to fight the tide of anti-Asian violence and xenophobia. In 2021 anti-Asian hate crimes across 16 major US cities spiked by 342% (according to a report from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at CSU, San Bernardino.) This alarming statistic coupled with the waning media coverage of hate crimes against Asian Americans, we feel the urgency now more than ever to boost awareness and spur empowerment.
A series of posters were created containing positive messaging like WE BELONG HERE, RESPECT BELOVED COMMUNITY and PROTECT EACH OTHER, with original artwork by seven local celebrated AA+NHPI women artists (Diem Chau, Erin Shigaki, Juliana Kang Robinson, Julie Kim, Raychelle Duazo, Saiyare Refaei and Saya Moriyasu). The campaign aims to raise awareness, beautify streetscapes, and uplift Seattle’s AA+NHPI community.
In celebration of AA+NHPI Heritage Month the posters will be on display at the gallery windows of 4Culture in the Tashiro Kaplan building in Pioneer Square (115 Prefontaine Pl S, Seattle, WA 98104), King Street Station, (303 South Jackson Street 2nd floor, Seattle, WA 98104), Wing Luke Museum, Inscape Arts & Cultural Center as well as in various storefronts throughout Seattle throughout the month of May and beyond. This project was made possible with funding from 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture with support from Wing Luke Museum and SCIDpda.
The digital posters below are downloadable, please credit the artists and share widely!
CHINESE AMERICAN LEGACY ARTWORK PROJECT
The Chinese American Legacy Artwork Project will recognize and pay tribute to the legacies of the Chinese presence in early Seattle and the expulsion of the Chinese from Seattle in 1886 with connections to today. The design for the project has been completed and efforts are underway to raise funds to erect the artwork in Pioneer Square. The installation location will be along Alaskan Way between South Washington and South Main Streets near The Compass Center entrance.
Seeds for this legacy project began in 2011. Community advocates including Bettie Luke, Doug Chin, Connie So, Ron King and others organized an event the 125th anniversary of the expulsion. Activities included a presentation and lecture, music, rally, and culminated in a reverse march from the Waterfront to Seattle’s original Chinatown which was located in what is now known as Pioneer Square. In 2015, the City of Seattle passed a resolution to express regret for the anti-Chinese legislation, recognize the past and continuing contributions of Chinese and Chinese Americans to Seattle, and the City’s commitment to the civil rights of all people.
Fast forward to September 14, 2023. Wing Luke Museum was attacked by a 76-year-old man who took a sledgehammer to the iconic windows along Canton Alley. He was later charged with a hate crime and first-degree malicious mischief. While and after destroying the windows, several witnesses heard the man disparaging Chinese Americans and that he needed to, “do something about it.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes targeting Asians and Asian Americans increased significantly, rising more than 73 percent in 2020. Since 2020, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed 130 cases involving hate crimes. Increased home invasions targeting Asian families in South King County and the recent hate crime committed against the Wing Luke Museum reinforce the need for solidarity and partnership as a response to racially motivated crimes.
DESIGN BY STEWART WONG
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Stewart Wong is a mixed-media studio and public artist. He was selected by the Chinese American Legacy Artwork Project committee to create the artwork in 2020 and the design was finalized over the pandemic. His public art installations include an Asian American monument at Bernalillo County Courthouse in Albuquerque (in partnership with Cheryll Leo-Gwin), the Sammamish Park and Ride for King County Metro and the Wing Luke Museum's Community Hall (in collaboration with Ron Ho).
ADDITIONAL READING
Seattle passes a resolution expressing regret for the anti-Chinese legislation in 2015, Seattle City Council Legislative Summary
Bettie Luke Recalls Marches Commemorating Anniversaries of 1886 Chinese Expulsion in 2015, HistoryLink.org
Hidden history of anti-Chinese violence, Feliks Banel, Kiro 97.3FM News Radio, June 1, 2020
Seattle cultural institutions unite against hate, Northwest Asian Weekly, September 20, 2023
Police response time to Wing Luke Museum 911 calls raises questions about priorities, Libby Denkmann & Sarah Leibovitz, KUOW, September 18, 2023.