Race and Equity

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.

While one would hope that cases of sexual harassment are treated very much on their merits, research from the University of Washington shows that this is sadly not the case. It finds that women who are young, who act and appear feminine, and who are “conventionally attractive” are far more likely to be believed in any accusations they make about sexual harassment.

On March 6, 1930, International Unemployment Day, the demonstrators outside the White House and in many U.S. cities were met with violence. UW history professor James Gregory is quoted.

Felix Mercado looks back on attending what was known as the “Spanish School,” a school that was built in 1936 specifically to segregate Mexican migrants from white people. Gonzalo Guzmán, a predoctoral instructor in American ethnic studies at the UW, is interviewed.

“Hybrid or all-remote schedules make powerful recruiting tools and look great on paper — carrying the promise of improved equity by giving employees the flexibility to better juggle work and life. But as the head of a women’s college and a cognitive scientist, I have some serious reservations,” writes Sian Beilock, president of Barnard College. A UW study is referenced.

"In early February, The Seattle Times published a report that provides a preliminary glimpse at who has had access to the first set of COVID-19 vaccines that were doled out. As much as I want to tell myself that this is an incomplete picture and that the first set of vaccines is reflective of a strategy to inoculate first responders and medical personnel, I still feel that the preliminary rollout failed to address a key consideration: namely, the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on people of color and economically marginalized folks," writes Oscar Rosales Castañeda, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW.

Devin Naar, professor of Sephardic studies and history and faculty at the Stroum Center for Jewish studies, explains the history for Seattle's Sephardic community of the recently demolished Seattle Curtain factory.