On May 18, 2020, GLAAD is joining anti-bullying nonprofit Act To Change in commemorating the second annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Day Against Bullying and Hate, led by anti-bullying nonprofit Act To Change.
Every day, AAPI kids of all ages suffer from being bullied online and in schools across the country. Certain AAPI groups – including South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Micronesian, LGBTQ, immigrant, and limited English proficient youth – are more likely to be the targets of bullying. AAPI youth also struggle in seeking and receiving help due to cultural, religious, and linguistic barriers. An already difficult situation, bullying of AAPI youth is now exacerbated by COVID-19. People of Asian descent are being blamed for the virus and targeted in verbal and physical attacks. There have been over 1500 cases of anti-Asian discrimination reported since the beginning of the pandemic. We publicly denounce all bullying and hate against the AAPI community, and stand in solidarity with Act To Change to encourage the public to foster dialogue, share resources, and end bullying and hate.
Act To Change co-founder Maulik Pancholy will moderate the organization’s virtual program, UNITED WE STAND, to commemorate AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate on May 18, 2020 at 1:00-2:30PM PT / 4:00-5:30PM ET. The day-of program will feature special guests appearances and performances from talent like:
- Tan France, TV Personality
- Lisa Ling, Journalist
- John Cho, Actor
- Padma Lakshmi, Food Expert & Author
- Kal Penn, Actor, Producer & former Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
- Philip Wang, Co-Founder, Wong Fu Productions
- Randall Park, Actor, Writer & Producer
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray
- Jose Antonio Vargas, Founder, Define American
- Helen Zia, Author/Activist
- Poorna Jagannathan, Actor, Netflix’s Never Have I Ever
- Hudson Yang, Actor, Fresh Off the Boat
- Celia Au and Lawrence Kao, Actors, Wu Assassins
- Punam Patel, Actor, Netflix’s SPECIAL
- Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06)
- Bing Chen, Chairman, Gold House & General Partner, AUM Group
- Michelle Lee, Editor in Chief, Allure
- Kelly Hu, Actor
- Jason Chu, Rapper and Poet
Register here to attend the virtual program.
AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate is part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and marks the birthday of Vincent Chin. In 1982, Chin was falsely blamed for the layoffs in the auto industry, and brutally murdered in a hate crime. His murder fueled a national Asian American movement, one that must continue today, in light of the rising xenophobia and hate crimes surrounding COVID-19.