Since the pandemic, there has been a surge in anti-Asian hate across the United States of America. These acts of hate have ranged from murder, physical and verbal assaults to vandalism and hate crimes, which can be hard to prove. While there has been an increase in reported cases, the truth of the matter is that many of these offenses go unreported, unpunished and unacknowledged. Wellesley has not been immune to this rise of racism and xenophobia.
On Sunday, February 14, 2021 it was an honor for World of Wellesley to co-sponsor Making the Invisible -> Visible: A Dialogue to Stop the Hate, with the Wellesley Chinese Language School, the Wellesley Chinese American Network. We stand united in our fight to address acts of hate, racism and xenophobia experienced by Chinese members of our community.
Elisabeth Chan, Associate Professor at Northern Virginia Community College, delivered an informative session entitled A Brief History of Anti-Chinese Racism in the United States. Her presentation included information about Chinese lynchings and enslavement in America, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the consequences of the “model minority myth and perpetual foreigner stereotype” and more.
Other guests included Chief Jack Pilecki, a 34-year veteran of the Wellesley Police Department, Marjorie R. Freiman, Chair Wellesley Select Board, Lise Olney, Select Board and Meghan Jop, Executive Director of General Government Services.
140 community members attended the event. We appreciated the outpouring of support for this event and know that this was just the first of more community conversations to come. Please stay tuned for Part 2 of Making the Invisible ->Visible: a Dialogue to STOP THE HATE. We can only accomplish this if we work together!
The Wellesley Public Library has also provided us with great resources to help learn more. See below:
- Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gorgon Chang
- America for Americans: History of Xenophbia in the United States by Erika Lee
- American Panic: A history of who scares u sand why by Mark Stein
- Not Fit For Our Society: Nativism and Immigration by Peter Schrag
If your organization would like to collaborate and/or co-sponsor this event, please contact Christina Horner, World of Wellesley Co-President, at chorner@worldofwellesley.org.