Resilience in Response to Anti-Asian Harassment Training To Be Offered in Thirteen Asian Languages
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WASHINGTON D.C. – As we enter into Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!) have announced a new initiative to equip twelve community-based organizations across the country to bring their “How to Respond to Anti-Asian Harassment and Practice Resilience When Experiencing Anti-Asian Harassment” training directly to impacted communities. Trainings will be delivered in-person and in thirteen Asian languages in addition to English, including Cantonese, Dari, Hindi, Hmong, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Since launching joint trainings in the spring of 2020 on how to safely respond to anti-Asian hate and harassment, Advancing Justice – AAJC and Right To Be have reached over 100,000 people through free online training sessions on bystander intervention, conflict de-escalation, and how to respond when experiencing anti-Asian harassment.
“We felt it was important to move beyond the online format and offer training in-person and in Asian languages,” said Marita Etcubañez, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Advancing Justice – AAJC. “By equipping community-based organizations to deliver the training in different Asian languages, we aim to bring this training to audiences we have not yet reached, including members of our community who may not have found the online format easily accessible. We also hope that offering training in-person will create opportunities for dialogue about the harassment that Asian Americans continue to face and the solutions that the community feels are needed.”
The new initiative was born out of a desire from local organizations to build resilience in their communities in response to the surge in anti-Asian hate in recent years. Partner organizations will be adapting the core training to reflect the specific needs of the communities they serve.
“As Asian Americans continue to experience anti-Asian hate and harassment, we wanted to find more ways to directly support the community, especially our elders here in Houston, to learn about how to address harassment, both in the moment and how to begin healing afterwards,” said Jannette Diep, Executive Director of Boat People SOS Houston. “We are so pleased that our staff are now able to provide anti-harassment training and are excited to host in-person trainings in Vietnamese, and in partnership with OCA Houston, in Chinese.”
“AJSOCAL is thrilled to bring this updated How to Respond curriculum in-person to Asian and Asian American communities in southern California,” said Christina Yang, General Counsel and Pro Bono Director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. “We have been providing the bystander intervention training since 2021, but that training focuses more on allies of the community, so it’s exciting to now also offer the How to Respond training, which more directly addresses how folks of Asian descent can take care of themselves if they experience harassment.”
Under this new initiative, partner organizations anticipate hosting a combined one hundred training sessions in 2024.
"I am both grateful and inspired by our collaboration with Advancing Justice – AAJC to make our anti-harassment training more accessible and relevant to Asian communities across the nation,” said Jorge Arteaga, Vice President of Movement Building at Right To Be. “By delivering these crucial trainings in-person and in thirteen different Asian languages, we are not just educating people on how to respond to anti-Asian harassment; we are empowering them to reclaim their right to be respected and safe in their communities. Our hope for this next phase of our work is to deepen our impact and reach even more folks who can benefit from these resources, fostering resilience and action against hate and harassment in every form."
Our partner organizations include:
California
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, in partnership with Asian Youth Center
- Council on American-Islamic Relations - Sacramento Valley and Central California
- The Fresno Center
Colorado
Minnesota
- CAPI USA, in partnership with Asian American Organizing Project
New Jersey
Oregon
Rhode Island
Texas
- Boat People SOS Houston, in partnership with OCA Greater Houston
While Advancing Justice – AAJC and Right To Be will continue to offer online training sessions, please contact our partner organizations directly to learn more about how to access their in-person training offerings.