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Transcript/ScriptHEADLINE: Racist Comment Results in Growing Awareness of Anti-Asian Sentiment in U.S.
TEASER: #VeryAsian social media movement illuminates long history of legalized discrimination
PUBLISHED AT: 01/18/2022 10:50 am
BYLINE: Chris Casquejo
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Chris Casquejo
PRODUCER: Chris Casquejo
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st); BR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:02
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO: ))
[[When a Korean American TV news anchor in St. Louis, Missouri, told the story of her traditional holiday meal of noodles, she received a racist message in response. That message, and the anchor’s reaction have sparked a viral conversation about anti-Asian racism. VOA’s Chris Casquejo reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy KSDK.Com/YouTube))
At the end of a New Year’s Day segment highlighting what Americans traditionally eat on the holiday, KSDK-TV anchor Michelle Li told viewers what her family enjoyed.
((Michelle Li, KSDK-TV Anchor)) “I ate dumpling soup. That’s what a lot of Korean people do.”
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy KSDK.Com/YouTube/Twitter / @MichelleLiTV))
Soon after, a viewer left a voicemail and Li posted a video of herself listening to the minute-long message.
((Courtesy KSDK.Com/YouTube/Twitter / @MichelleLiTV))
((Viewer voicemail))
“She was being very Asian and I don’t know, she can keep her Korean to herself.”
((NARRATOR))
Li says the caller’s words hurt her deeply.
((Michelle Li, KSDK-TV Anchor))
((Courtesy: Zoom))
“To me, it takes me back to being a kid. Or that one time someone did this, or that one time someone said this. So it compounds the scars you’ve built through your lifetime.”
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: Twitter / @wutrain))
((Courtesy: Twitter / @TammyDuckworth))
((Courtesy Twitter / @MargaretCho))
The video now has more than 3.7 million views.
Using the hashtag #VeryAsian, many prominent Asian Americans like Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, and actress and comedian Margaret Cho weighed in to support Li.
((Margaret Cho, Actress and Comedian))
((Courtesy: Zoom))
“I think it’s really important that we look to these issues and that these moments in society go viral, that people see that their ignorance is being watched.”
((NARRATOR))
Anti-Asian sentiment is nothing new in the United States. There were legal limits on immigration from China and other Asian countries from the 1880s until 1965.
And the U.S. government interned Japanese Americans during World War II.
((LeiLani Nishime, University of Washington Professor of Communication))
((Courtesy: Zoom))
“There’s this stereotype that Asians are never quite American enough, are never really American. And in many ways they have to get rid of their Asian culture in order to be American in ways that we don’t ask other people, say Europeans, for example.”
(( NARRATOR ))
Other experts say U.S. schools fail to teach the history of discrimination against Asian Americans. Without that background, the current wave of slurs and attacks cannot be seen as part of systemic discrimination.
(( Vincent Pham, Willamette University Associate Professor of Civic Communication ))
((Courtesy: Zoom))
“Let’s actually talk about race and racial differences, and what does this mean? And the systemic versions of it, and how does this affect how we engage with each other. And that changes how we have to think about racism, beyond being an individual thing, but rather as a structural aspect of our society that is reinforced by structural norms and representation.”
((NARRATOR))
The outpouring of social media support for Li has helped her move past the hurtful racism of the call.
((Michelle Li, KSDK-TV Anchor))
“I think that’s something we’re really coming to terms with as a world because we’re all becoming more mixed. We’re all becoming more appreciative of who we are. We’re all embracing our true selves.”
((NARRATOR))
And with that, an ugly moment is turning into a social media movement highlighting America’s promise as a multi-ethnic, multiracial society.
((Chris Casquejo, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 18, 2022 16:54 EST
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media
