On February 25th, Riverdale Takes Action - a club that creates opportunities for Riverdale community members to engage in activism - organized an on-campus demonstration to demand justice for the victims of the escalating, and only marginally covered, anti-Asian violence in the United States. The demonstration consisted of a moment of silence for the victims, as well as a reading of their names to share their stories and honor their lives. All grades attending in-person school were encouraged to join, and those at home had the option to participate virtually. Additionally, a Zoom conversation to discuss recent spikes in anti-Asian violence was held after the demonstration. 

Since the emergence of Covid-19, the rate of hate crimes against Asian-Americans has rapidly increased. The New York Police Department found that violence towards Asian-American communities has increased by 1,900% in New York City alone since March of 2020. Many point to former President Donald Trump as an instigator of this brutality; by coining and popularizing racist terms including the “China virus” and the “kung flu,” he seemingly directed the blame for the pandemic onto Asian-Americans. Anti-Asian racism and violence has been largely overlooked by the mainstream media, in part due to the model minority myth, or the false idea that Asian-Americans are more successful than other minority groups and thus less prone to experiencing racism. By holding a demonstration on the Riverdale campus, members of Riverdale Takes Action hoped to call attention to the issue. 

Senior Ishikaa Kothari, co-leader of Riverdale Takes Action, helped organize and lead the demonstration on Riverdale’s campus. Kothari felt there was a lack of recognition at Riverdale concerning anti-Asian hate crimes. She hoped to “spark a conversation and spark action” across the Riverdale community. For Kothari, the moment of silence during the demonstration was particularly powerful because it allowed a time to “reflect on these victims’ lives.” Kothari went on to say, “it’s important to recognize the victims not only as the crime they were associated with, but who they [were] as actual people.” For those who did not attend the demonstration, Kothari reminds Riverdale members to “engage in conversation and continue to learn and educate yourself and others.”

Despite the numerous crimes against Asian-Americans in the United States, many believe that the media has not portrayed the true extent of this violence. Assistant Head of the Upper School Ms. Julie Choi, who attended the demonstration, commented on this lack of media attention: “Asian-Americans are underrepresented in all aspects, including the media, so really, this is not a surprise. The stories might also not be as ‘attention-grabbing’ or ‘newsworthy’ as some others, resulting in them not being reported.” Ms. Choi believes that “Asian-Americans are constantly overlooked. We deserve to be included because we are part of the struggle, part of the fight.” 

Mr. Nicky Enright, an Upper School Visual Arts teacher, was also present during the demonstration and shared another perspective on media coverage: “Many of the crimes against Asian-Americans aren’t ‘neat’ or your ‘stereotypical’ ones, which makes it more of a challenge to talk about it. It’s uncomfortable.” By “stereotypical crimes,” Mr. Enright is referring to “crimes perpetrated by a White person against an Asian-American person, when in reality, crimes against this community are also being committed by people from [minority groups], too.” When Mr. Enright first learned about the violence against the Asian-American community, he felt “incredibly angry and shocked. This was not a new thing, yet it was new to me. I remember reading so many stories about elders from that community being assaulted just because of their ethnicity. It was infuriating.”

Students and faculty members have the opportunity to create change, but, as Ms. Choi observes, “we must actively engage. Go do your research, go talk to your peers. Show that you want to learn, be curious.” Mr. Enright refers to this notion as “soul-searching” which he defines as “time to discover what is meaningful to you and what type of world you want to live in.” The demonstration created a space for members of the Riverdale community to engage in an active discussion about anti-Asian violence. As Kothari explained, “it started a conversation, but although the demonstration is over, the fight is ongoing.”