Stop Asian Hate

Who created this message?

The Stop AAPI Hate coalition was started in 2020 to track and respond to incidents of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.The slogan Stop Asian Hate became more widespread in 2021 when it was adopted by several different groups protesting violence against Asians during the pandemic.

What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?

The first time that I saw one of these signs in my community was last year at my son’s track meet.  A house across the street from the track field had a colorful sign that said, “Stop Asian Hate.” The language attracted my attention because my daughter, who was in 4th grade at the time, read it and had lots of questions. One of them being - who hates me? Seeing that sign scared her. We decided that we preferred the following slogans:

Everyone is Welcome Here
Asian Lives Matter
No Place for Hate

How might different people interpret this message differently than me?

I imagine some people would take comfort in seeing signs like this. Perhaps they would feel as if they had allies in the community. I have seen people carrying this sign at protests (on TV and in news articles). Perhaps they are using this direct language to bring the issue into light without sugar coating it. My husband suggested that by having a generic sign that says, “Everyone is Welcome Here” it glosses over the issue and continues the feelings of invisibility among some Asian Americans.

What viewpoints or world views are included or left out of this message?

One of the things that my husband told my daughter was that whoever posted the sign probably wanted to show that they were allies and they probably didn’t think that it would make some people feel scared and unwelcome.

Why is this message being sent?

This message was created because of the escalation of incidents of hate against Asian Americans. The mission of the Stop AAPI Hate coalition “is to advance equity, justice, and power by dismantling systemic racism and building a multiracial movement to end anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate.”