Visual Resources: Tips for Conversations Around Anti-Asian Violence

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in summer of 2020, there’s been a rise of anti-Asian violence reported by the media. The visual resources below offer higher education professionals some tips and suggestions on how to talk about anti-Asian violence to different constituents including students, colleagues, supervisors, and family members. The transcript to the visual resources can be found at the bottom of this page.

Transcript for Visual Resources:

Conversation Tips about Anti-Asian Racism


Slide 1 - Title Page

Tips to consider when engaging in conversations and actions about anti-Asian violence for higher education professionals

Created by www.linkedin.com/in/markckf


Slide 2 - Content Preview

Tips when engaging in conversations with…

  • students, student organizations, or student staff | 3/9

  • departmental or cross-functional colleagues | 4/9

  • supervisors or upper leadership | 5/9

  • family members | 6/9

Beyond Conversations: Actions for…

  • Asian groups | 7/9

  • Non-Asian groups | 8/9

Resources on Instagram

  • Accounts to consider following | 9/9


Slide 3 - Conversations with Students

  • Don't confine Asian students & their experiences with anti-Asian violence. They are more than just victims of racism

  • Don't tokenize Asian students and assume they always need support. Create space for them to be able to ask for support if that is what they need

  • Collaborate with counseling services to create optional remote or in-person drop-in spaces that encourage Asian students to process recent & historical anti-Asian incidents

  • Check-in on your Asian and non-Asian BIPOC students, student organizations, and student staff

  • Engaging in culturally competent empathy, active listening, & advocacy during remote or in-person meet-ups; avoid emails or impersonal connections

  • Reflect on why you engage in conversations with students. Is it because it will benefit and support them or because it will make you feel better?


Slide 4 - Conversations with Colleagues

  • Say no to racial gaslighting. Anti-Asian violence should not be minimized nor belittled

  • Forge strong relationships across minoritized racial communities and create systems of support

  • Include Asian communities in racial justice conversations and movements to help reshape perceptions and understandings of racism in the U.S.

  • Check-in on your Asian colleagues and provide genuine support and care when needed

  • Encourage colleagues to acknowledge and address multiple issues, communities, and experiences at once. They don't have to choose between supporting Black or Asian communities. It can be both

  • Drive non-Asian colleagues to learn more about the multiple facets of Asian cultures. There are many resources on the internet for self-education


Slide 5 - Conversations with Supervisors

  • Request that supervisors acknowledge and denounce anti-Asian violence and provide support

  • Demand increased multi-dimensional visibility and awareness of racial climate impacting Asian and non-Asian BIPOC communities

  • Request that there is a focus on recruitment, retention, and support resources for Asian staff, especially in upper leadership

  • Call on supervisors to continuously be supportive beyond this moment. Anti-racism work is a journey

  • For BIPOC communities experiencing violence, allow yourself to ask for flexibility & understanding

  • Ask for disaggregated data when collecting information about Asian communities. This will help better understand the multiple experiences within the Asian diaspora


Slide 6 - Conversations with Family Members

  • Ask your family members if they are aware of the rise in anti-Asian violence, especially consider educating family members who are non-native English speakers

  • Ask how Asian family members are doing and how they are coping with the rise in anti-Asian violence. Provide resources to process emotions and feelings

  • Ask what is being proactively done to ensure safety in case of experiencing anti-Asian violence

  • Do not allow conversations around anti-Asian violence to lead to anti-Blackness sentiments. Keep preventing & mitigating anti-Blackness in our conversations and actions

  • Consider seeking support outside of traditional family structures if they aren't supportive or responsive to your needs


Slide 7 - Beyond Conversations: Actions for Asian Groups

  • Check-in on each other, we're all in this together

  • Protect elders & preserve cultural traditions

  • Educate Asian non-English speakers about what is going on and racial climate in the U.S.

  • Learn about active bystander and conflict de-escalation skills. Free training offered through ihollaback.org

  • Report anti-Asian hate incidents through stopaapihate.org

  • Take care of yourself; process; heal; do what is best for yourself


Slide 8 - Beyond Conversations: Actions for non-Asian Groups

  • Educate yourself on racial climate, in the U.S. and abroad, as it relates to Asian communities

  • Check-in on Asian colleagues without assuming they are looking for support

  • Safely intervene when witnessing subtle or overt anti-Asian violence. Free training offered by ihollaback.org

  • Donate money and time to grassroots and/or community organizations doing racial justice work, especially in regions with high anti-Asian violence

  • Amplify Asian voices, narratives, and experiences, especially in predominantly white spaces

  • Learn about the history of Asian discrimination and other challenges faced by these communities


Slide 9 - Follow on Instagram

  • @AAPIWomenLead

  • @AdvancingJustice_AAJC

  • @AsiansForMentalHealth

  • @DearAsianYouth

  • @MichelleKimKim & @VisionAwaken

  • @RepresentAsianProject

  • @UnapologeticallyAsian_

  • ... and many more!