Anti-Asian Hate Is Met Mostly With Silence in Silicon Valley

Hi everyone. Tom here, weighing in on a heavy topic. Acts of violence and other forms of harassment against Asian people in the U.S. have surged in the past year, a reflection of misplaced blame over the spread of the coronavirus. While corporate America has begun speaking out, the response from the tech industry—which employs a high percentage of Asian professionals and bestrides the region where much of the bigotry is concentrated—has been tepid at best, according to some leaders in the Asian American community.

Since March 19, there have been more than 3,000 reported instances of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans in the U.S., according to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition of researchers and advocacy groups that began tabulating data on anti-Asian hate as the virus spread across the country a year ago. These acts, which range from verbal abuse to physical assaults, are often fomented by media images and leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, who falsely portrayed people of Asian descent as responsible for the spread of Covid-19, said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, an advocacy group.