Racially motivated attacks against Asian Canadians have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic, leaving people feeling powerless and helpless to stop these acts of hate.
To speak out against these acts of anti-Asian hate and discrimination, a group of prominent Asian Canadian leaders from Ryerson University are producing a video that sheds light on anti-Asian racism by sharing the personal experiences of frontline workers and giving people resources to help—whether they are victims of or witnesses to racially motivated hate or discrimination. The ultimate goal of the video is to encourage people to take action to support the Asian community.
The video will be released on social media and through Canada’s university network in May, aligning with Asian Heritage Month.
Our ask of you
- Would you be willing to participate in the video by sharing your personal experience of having to deal with anti-Asian hate and discrimination?
- If anonymity is a concern for you, we can film you telling your story in a way that protects your identity.
- And of course, COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed during filming.
We are still finalizing timing, but our aim is to film this video the week of April 12th. Please let us know if you’d be open to telling your story—your involvement would mean so much to us in our efforts to put an end to anti-Asian racism. Feel free to share with Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Cambodian, Laotian communities.
If you know of anyone who may be willing to take part, please contact Josephine Wong at jph.wong@ryerson.ca.
Josephine Wong is a professor at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University. She has extensive experience in critical public health. Dr.Wong specializes in community-based action research, stigma reduction interventions, and implementation science to promote health equity among racialized and marginalized communities. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, Dr. Wong worked at the Toronto Public Health SARS Control Centre, and volunteered with Toronto’s Coalition Concerned About SARS, to establish and co-lead the SARS Support Line in response to community needs.
