Testimony for Judiciary Committee in support of HF 3837
May 4, 2020
Bo Thao-Urabe, Executive & Network Director
Coalition of Asian American Leaders
Good morning Chair Lesch and Members of the Committee.
My name is Bo Thao-Urabe. I am the Executive & Network Director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL). We are an organization that brings over 3,000 Asian Minnesotan leaders from across sectors, ethnic groups and generations together to harness our collective power to ensure that Minnesota works for everyone.
Today, I am here to speak in support of HF 3837 that aims to strengthen community capacity and expand reporting and training for our State to address crimes motivated by hate.
As you may already know, Asian Minnesotans comprise over 5% of the state’s population. We are one of youngest populations with a median age of 29, and according to the State Demographer, Asian Minnesotans also make up the largest group of new working age adults. As a whole, we pay over $900 Million in taxes to this state annually.
These are important assets, but today I am here to ask for your support of something that no amount of resources we bring as a community can deter if we don’t collectively stand together and proactively do more.
Since January our country and state has been significantly impacted by COVID-19. And though many leaders have denounced the use of terminology that perpetuates anti-Asian stigma, incidents of discrimination and violence have continued to increase.
Starting in February, we, at CAAL, began receiving messages from community members about COVID-related bias, discrimination and violence targeting them. These incidents have included such things as: spitting, physical and verbal harassment, and discriminatory service.
For example, I received a text from a woman who shared that she and her husband went shopping for essentials at the Shakopee Walmart. When they were leaving another customer followed them out to their car and shoved her husband around, accusing them of causing thecoronavirus. They didn’t call the police because they didn’t believe anything would be done. They were shaken and now worry that they aren’t safe doing basic things to take care of their family during this very difficult time.
She said, “It was shoving this time, but what if the next person decides to run us over with their car, or shoot us? If they hate us for being Asian; there’s nothing we can do. We’re scared.”
In a recent poll [1], 32% of people indicate that they had witnessed people blaming Asian people for the coronavirus, while 60% of Asian American respondents in the same survey indicate they had experienced discrimination during this crisis.
Today, I’m also asking you to support HF 3837 because I do not want to see history repeated when a group of people is identified as a target for our collective pain. As elected leaders I urge you to continue to use your positions to condemn language that creates stigma, but I also strongly urge you to do all that you can to improve how we address hate crimes as a State.
While we cannot know the future, Asian Americans know from history how crises in America can lead to increased violence against them individually or collectively – from the Chinese Exclusion Act, to the Japanese American Internment, to the killing of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was killed while out celebrating his upcoming wedding. He was killed by two men who believed he was Japanese, and they blamed Japanese people for causing the auto industry crash. Already during this crisis in Texas, an Asian family was stabbed, including children aged two and six, by another customer who believed they were spreading the coronavirus.
Turning back to Minnesota, imagine arriving home to find this note taped to your door: “We’re watching you. Take the Chinese virus back to China. We don’t want you hear infecting us with your diseases! Signed, your friendly neighborhood.”
A young Minnesota couple who are of Hmong ethnicity came home to find that note taped to their door. How would you feel if that happened to your daughter, son, cousin, niece, nephew, or friend? Hate crimes are happening in Minnesota and HF 3837 provides you with the opportunity to send a message that we do not support targeting communities, and we do not support making individuals and communities feel unsafe.
I’ll close by sharing that as a community organization, we understand that we hold the relationships and trust of our community members; that’s why we stand ready to collaborate with you and different State agencies to carry out work that will make Minnesota safe for every community. We need you to do your part to strengthen our collective resolve and ability to address hate crimes. Please stand with us against the small minority of people who target our community.
Thank you for the opportunity to tell our story of what it’s like for the Asian Minnesotan community also experiencing COVID-19.