Statement Against Anti-Asian Violence issued
The Asian and Asian American Bishops of the United Methodist Church, the New Federation of Asian American United Methodists, the Asian American Language Ministry Plan, along with other Asian American leaders and academics of the United Methodist Church, strongly condemn the surge in xenophobic violence against Asian Americans and especially violence against the Asian American elderly.
More than 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes have been committed in 16 of the country’s most populous cities since 2020, an increase of almost 150% over the previous year. According to Stop AAPI Hate, 2,800 incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans have occurred since March 2020. Russell Jeung, the chair of the Asian-American Studies Department at San Francisco State University and one of the leaders of “ Stop AAPI Hate ”, said that, according to the organization’s data, people 60
and older were disproportionately targeted with physical violence, as were women. In New York City, violence against Asian Americans has risen by 1900% in 2020.
