As the debate over what legally qualifies as anti-Asian bias unfolds, the community is grappling with the reality that the law is simply not designed to account for many of the ways in which Asian Americans experience racism.
Don Lee, a community activist, in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York on March 11, 2021. Lee has been calling for more anti-Asian attacks to be publicly identified as hate crimes.
Image: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
NEW YORK — On a cold evening last month, a Chinese man was walking home near Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood when a stranger suddenly ran up behind him and plunged a knife into his back.
For many Asian Americans, the stabbing was horrifying but not surprising. It was widely seen as just the latest example of racially targeted violence against Asians during the pandemic.
But the perpetrator, a 23-year-old man from Yemen, had not said a word to the victim before the attack, investigators said. Prosecutors determined they lacked enough evidence to prove a racist motive. The attacker was charged with attempted murder, but not as a hate crime.
The announcement outraged Asian American leaders in New York City. Many of them protested outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, demanding that the stabbing be prosecuted as a hate crime. They were tired of what they saw as racist assaults being overlooked by authorities.
“Let’s call it what it is,” said Don Lee, a community activist who spoke at the rally. “These are not random attacks. We’re asking for recognition that these crimes are happening.”
©2019 New York Times News Service