Recent anti-Asian sentiment may have been stoked by Donald Trump’s xenophobic response to Covid-19 — which he repeatedly called “the Chinese virus.” But it existed long before him, since the arrival of Chinese workers in the 19th century, and stubbornly persists, even after his departure from office. The effects of this rhetoric have laid bare the vulnerabilities of a group that comprises five percent of the U.S. population, and is breathtakingly diverse in its makeup, marked by extreme disparities in income, language and culture. The murders in Atlanta, in which a young white man killed workers and others in Asian-owned massage businesses, highlighted additional complexities of gender and race: of the eight victims, six were Asian-American women, mostly of Korean descent. An exhibition titled “Godzilla vs. the Art World: 1990–2001” that was scheduled to open in May at the Museum of Chinese in America, and a forthcoming anthology edited by the curator Howie Chen about the group Godzilla, a loose affiliation of artists and curators, are timely reminders that activism is not new for Asian- American art workers. They have been organizing for years to increase representation, improve their visibility and forge alliances with other groups.

Source: New York Times April 18, 2021 14:00 UTC