Reporting Anti-Asian Hate Activity–resources shared by the Seattle Chapter, Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL)

FOR IMMEDIATE POSTING—REPORTING ANTI-ASIAN HATE ACTIVITY

To: Communications Officers of Puget Sound School Districts and Higher Education Institutions

From: Seattle Chapter Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL)

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has witnessed the rise of racist anti-Asian hate incidents. The incidents have occurred across the country and have ranged from outright violent attacks to various forms of verbal harassment and discriminatory exclusion. Asian students have been cyberbullied during their on-line school experiences. Anecdotal reports indicate some Asian students are apprehensive about returning to in-person learning. Several incidents of anti-Asian hate and bullying have taken place in the local Puget Sound area recently.

Police and governmental officials in Seattle, Bellevue and other localities have encouraged individuals experiencing or witnessing incidents to report all hate crimes, including verbal harassment, so that an accurate picture of anti-Asian hate activity can be created. Call 911 immediately in order to report instances.

In addition to reporting incidents to local law enforcement, the Seattle JACL has gathered a list of resources for families to access for support:

Seattle Office for Civil Rights
This office upholds laws that protect you against discriminatory harassment in housing, employment, or public places within Seattle city limits.
King County Office of Civil Rights
This office has authority to handle discrimination complaints only for King County government and for employers, housing providers, and businesses in the unincorporated parts of King County (outside the cities).
Washington State Human Rights Commission
Under the law, everyone has the right to be free from discrimination at work, in housing, in a public accommodation, or when seeking credit and insurance. Any individual who believes that he or she has been discriminated against based on protected class status may file a charge of discrimination for employers, housing providers, and businesses.

Non-government/non-police reporting tools and resources are also available. Community members can report the incident to one of the following entities to help educate the public on what’s happening and shape policy:

StoptheHate.Community
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the Washington State Commission on Asian-Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) worked with community leaders and the Attorney General’s Office to develop a non-governmental reporting tool for victims of hate and bias incidents, as well as a map to track bias incidents reported through the tool.
King County Coalition Against Hate and Bias
The Coalition is a community-led initiative to address hate and bias incidents by strengthening and networking communities who experience racist and bigoted treatment and all forms of oppression. The Coalition Partners are also the administrators of the Hate and Bias Incident Response Survey to collect data from communities affected by hate and bias.
Stand Against Hatred
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is tracking incidents of bias. By sharing what you experienced or witnessed, you can educate the public, empower others, show service providers where help is needed, and strengthen advocacy efforts for hate crimes response and prevention. Forms available in English, Chinese (traditional & simplified), Korean and Vietnamese.
AAPI Hate Incident Form
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Submitting hate incidents through this form will help us OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates monitor hate towards AAPIs across the country.
Stop AAPI Hate
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON) and Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) have launched this reporting center to allow community members to report incidents of hate they have experienced. Individual information, including personal identification details, will be kept confidential and will only be shared with permission. In the aggregate, the information will be used for assistance, advocacy and education. Forms available in English, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Khmer, Thai, and Japanese.

Finally, being a victim of hate and discrimination can affect mental health as much as physical health. Please encourage victims of anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment to reach out to friends and family for emotional support. The following organizations can assist with emotional/mental health resources:

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) also has a guide for victims of hate crimes: What to Do If You’ve Been The Victim of a Hate Crime.

The Seattle JACL requests that school districts post these resources in a prominent and accessible location on their websites for families, staff and students to refer to if needed.

Questions can also be directed to the Seattle Chapter JACL: info@seattlejacl.org

Dr. Kyle Kinoshita

Board member and Civil Rights Committee Co-Chair

Seattle Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)

COVID-19 Caregiver Task Force

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for employee and student caregivers everywhere. Locally, COVID-19 has worsened an existing caregiving crisis by causing many child care centers to close or reduce capacity and reducing programs and services that provide support for children, adults and caregivers.

On July 30, 2020, President Cauce charged a task force with recommending enhancements that UW can make to better support employee and student caregivers during the 2020-21 academic year. The PSO contributed to this task force, and we are glad to share the report.

Annual Letter to Professional Staff from the PSO Board

Hello, UW community of professional staff! On behalf of the PSO Board of Directors, we are excited to reach out to you as we begin our year together. In this moment it’s more important than ever to stay connected and be there for each other. The PSO is working to understand, amplify, and address the needs of professional staff–that’s *you*, and over 10,000 others on our Seattle, Tacoma, Bothell, and Harborview campuses.

The all-volunteer PSO Board works to highlight the essential role of, enriches the experience of, and serves as a resource for professional staff at the University of Washington–the mission of this 30-year-old 501c(5). Through our values of Advocacy, Communication, Education, Professional Development, and Representation, we develop events, programs, scholarships, partnerships, and other resources to ensure that professional staff are seen, heard and appreciated for the immense value you all bring to our campuses.

Last year, some of the ways in which we served this community included:

3rd annual Diversity Forum, featuring speakers on allyship and accomplice-ment
Spring Celebration, with speaker President Ana Mari Cauce
Professional Staff Awards, where peers nominate each other for their outstanding contributions to the UW
Over $3,000 in scholarships to pro-staff for professional development
Successful advocacy to avoid increases in the cost of U-PASSes
Advocacy for professional staff of color and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Regular welcoming of new UW professional staff, in partnership with UW-HR, at orientation events

This wouldn’t be possible without the support of PSO members. Each year the majority of the contributions you give are funneled back into the professional staff community. Thank you for making our work possible!

PSO-Board-2020-2021 — The 2020-1 PSO Board held its retreat in August 2020.

During our annual board retreat, we discussed the primary ways we plan to support professional staff in the coming year, under the themes of Equity, Advocacy, and Engagement. We plan to reach out to adjacent communities and UW leaders to listen and share resources and ideas; we plan to increase the number of conversations we host about how to support BIPOC professional staff; and we plan to stabilize and grow our scholarships program so that the efforts of pro-staff to improve their professional skills are celebrated and rewarded. Importantly, the upcoming legislative session looks to be a difficult one for UW and higher education. The PSO Legislative Committee is working to make sure your voices are heard in Olympia. Legislators need to hear from UW staff that funding UW and higher education is vital for the economy and future of this State.

We want to hear from you! How can we advocate for your needs, to UW leadership, state legislature and beyond? We hope to hear more about your experiences during the pandemic and the uprisings due in response to continued injustices toward Black and brown bodies, and intend to reach out specifically later in the quarter.

Finally, if you’d like to get more involved with the PSO, we welcome you to volunteer at our events or join any of our committees. Or just reach out–we would be happy to hear from you.

Best wishes for a meaningful and productive start to our academic year,

Leyla Salmassi, President, and Jen Davison, Vice President, on behalf of the PSO Board