"Spread AAPI Love": New campaign celebrates resilience amid anti-Asian hate

A new multimedia storytelling project features Asian American and Pacific Islander stories of resilience, celebration and solidarity as part of an ongoing campaign for racial justice.

Why it matters: While community groups say AAPIs still fear being targeted following a rise in hate crimes since 2020, they also are more than just victims.

Context: Stop AAPI Hate — a partnership among the AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American studies department of San Francisco State University — launched in March 2020.

• While the coalition's work has focused on combating racism and documenting hate incidents, new survey findings show that stories of strength also have a role to play in mobilizing AAPIs.

What they're saying: "Outrage is a powerful motivator for taking action ... but our research shows that so is love — love for our heritage, culture, ethnic identity and communities," Stephanie Chan, director of data and research at Stop AAPI Hate, said in a press release.

State of play: For the " Spread AAPI Love " campaign, people nationwide were invited to submit their own stories during AAPI Heritage Month through various media. They were then posted on Stop AAPI Hate's social media hubs as well as several AAPI content creators' channels.

• Spotlighted stories include one from Tiana Liufau, who served as a choreographer for the animated film "Moana."
• Stop AAPI Hate also invested in nationwide digital advertising for the campaign and out-of-home transit ads in the Bay.

By the numbers: Stop AAPI Hate's 2024 national survey , released this month, found that 49% of AAPIs in the U.S. experienced some form of race-based hate in 2023.

• 74% took part in activities to "reduce or resist racism" in 2023.
• The factors that most motivate AAPIs to take action against racial injustice were hope for a better future for younger generations (81%); the collective efforts of AAPIs to combat racism (72%); and a strong connection to their ethnic or racial identity (69%).

The big picture: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are among the racial groups that saw a spike in population growth in San Francisco over the last two decades .

• Asian Americans account for about 34% of the city's population, while Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders comprise under 1%, per U.S. Census Bureau data .

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