S1E67 / Past Is Prologue: Epidemics & Anti-Asian Xenophobia / Toby Chow, Merlin Chowkwanyun, David Randall

EPIDEMIC with Dr. Celine Gounder

"I think a lot of people don't understand how fearful Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans are in this moment" -Toby Chow

On March 16, a gunman in Atlanta killed eight people. Six of them were women of Asian descent. During the last 12 months, anti-Asian hate crimes were up 150% in the United States but the coronavirus pandemic is not the first time people of Asian descent have been stigmatized because of a disease. In this episode, we’ll look back at what happened in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush when an outbreak of the plague was blamed on Chinese immigrants. We'll look back to see what happened in San Francisco, and how overcoming bigotry then prevented a plague pandemic in America.

If you're looking to support the Asian American and Pacific Islander community at this time, two organizations we recommend are the Asian American Pacific Islander Civic Engagement Fund and Asian American Advancing Justice Atlanta.

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