Race and Equity

One day after a Minneapolis police officer was convicted in the death of George Floyd, Seattle’s Community Police Commission has launched a new website that aims to keep the public informed about efforts to reform the Seattle Police Department. Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW, is interviewed.

Christopher Parker, professor of political science at the UW, talks about whether this historical moment will result in progress when it comes to racial justice.

Moon-Ho Jung, a professor in the department of history, discusses anti-Asian racism.

"The problem with pretext traffic stops is that when police use their discretion to decide who to pull over, they disproportionately pull over Black drivers more than white drivers, particularly within predominantly Black communities. As a result, Black drivers are searched 1.5 to 2 times as often as white drivers. The practice of pretext traffic stops allows police to surveil communities of color, over-patrol them, and pull people over," writes Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW.

Jake Grumbach, political science professor, discusses the state of police reform in the United States.

Two Yup'ik engineers, Christopher Egalaaq Liu and Lonny Alaskuk Strunk, who recieved his masters in computational linguistics from the UW, have worked on a new advanced Yugtun translation tool.

In the wake of a fatal shooting in Minneapolis as former police officer Derek Chauvin stands trial for George Floyd's death, Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW, comments on the two events.

Black and Asian American communities are uniting against racism. However, during this time, there’s also a call to confront divisions between the communities. Vince Schleitwiler, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW, is interviewed.

After struggling to embrace his culture and hiding his sexual orientation, Simon Tran (UW Drama & CHID, '16) finally found self-acceptance and the Asian ally he needed.
After being bullied by his high school journalism teacher, Simon went on to study writing at the UW, where he met a half-Asian teaching assistant who would change how he viewed his own culture and find pride in being Vietnamese.

Since the beginning of the year, Asian Americans have come increasingly under violent attack. Elders have been assaulted in Chinatowns across the country, from Oakland to San Francisco to New York City. In late February, Inglemoor High School Japanese teacher Noriko Nasu and her boyfriend were walking through Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and were attacked without provocation. Reuben Deleon, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

"The past week carried a heavy tone that continues to add to the incremental accumulation of collective psychological trauma. As news seeped into my digital media feeds, I prepared myself for that cyclical pattern that many of us undergo when we encounter repeated instances of violence. We are made aware of our otherness and, in turn, feel the paranoia that follows," writes Oscar Rosales Castañeda, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW.

From Snohomish County to Congress, condemnations came swiftly. Anti-Asian acts are on the rise and were highlighted by Tuesday’s shooting deaths of eight people in Georgia. Local history shows how Asians were targeted long ago, by brutal attacks and through government actions, even as their toil helped build the Northwest. The UW Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest is mentioned.

"If we can name physical attacks and deaths as racist violence, why can’t we name the system of racial capitalism that produces the economic precarity of living paycheck to paycheck an issue of violence, as well? Much of the mainstream focus on race and racial violence ignores the intersection of class," writes Linh Thủy Nguyễn, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the UW.

"We are outraged and deeply saddened by the massacre of the eight people in Atlanta. We give our love, support and deep condolences to the victims and their families. We grieve for their loss and for the violence surging against Asian American Pacific Island communities, especially women, who make up 70% of those victimized in the 3,800 hate crimes reported between March 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021," write Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW; Sutapa Basu of the University of Washington Women’s Center; and Velma Veloria, a former Washington State Representative.

Assistant professor of American Ethnic Studies, Linh Thủy Nguyễn, is interviewed about the recent wave of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.