How to Talk to Asian American Friends About Anti-AAPI Racism
7 Ways to Check In With Your Asian American Friends Without Saying, "How Are You Doing?"
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Helping can come in different forms right now. If they have experienced a hate crime or racist incident, you can offer to help them report it or get medical attention if necessary. (Here are some first steps for hate crime victims from the Human Rights Campaign.) You can also point them to AAPI mental health resources and help them reach out.
In addition, you can offer them an open invitation to talk about racism, hate crimes, or anything else they've experienced or want to bring up. ("I'm here if you ever need to talk.") Finally, you can ask if there's anything else you can do to help them, but make sure to do your own research into anti-AAPI bias and violence as well; don't rely on AAPI people, who are already facing trauma right now, to do the work for you.