A New Wave of Anti-Asian Violence Demands New Answers

Fighting COVID-Inspired Racism Requires Solidarity, Legislation, and Protest

From smashed windows and racist graffiti to outright physical violence, approximately 2,700 incidents of hate have been documented against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic in March.

“What can we do in response to this meteoric rise in anti-Asian racism?” asked Chinese for Affirmative Action executive director Cynthia Choi during a wide-ranging Zócalo/Daniel K. Inouye Institute virtual event that streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, “Does a New Wave of Anti-Asian American Racism Require New Ways of Fighting …

by Jackie Mansky | October 8, 2020

A Letter From Mumbai, Where Everyday Questions Carry New Weight

For Muslims in India, Lockdowns May Unleash Something More Dangerous and Discriminatory Than a Virus

by Annie Zaidi | April 8, 2020

On local trains, I used to overhear phone conversations. Fights, flirtations, and often the question: Khana khaya? Did you eat?

Mentally, I’d roll my eyes. If someone asked me, my …

Why Living in College Dorms Is an American Rite of Passage

Since the 17th Century, Educators Have Designed Housing to Create ‘Morally Conscious Citizens’

by Carla Yanni | September 8, 2019

Zócalo’s editors are diving into our archives and throwing it back to some of our favorite pieces. This week: For many years, American college …

The Pain of Surviving the San Fernando Valley Can Make You Powerful

In Two Memoirs, Activist Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Comedian-Actress Tiffany Haddish Reveal How ’90s L.A. Shaped Them

by Joe Mathews | August 13, 2018

How can Californians rise from horrific local circumstances to national influence?

Two recent books offer one answer: It may help to have grown up amid the racism and institutional failures of …

Big Corporations Are Good for Social Progress

Multinational Companies, in Particular, Have Found That Oppression of Minorities Is Just Bad for Business

by Andrés Martinez | July 13, 2015

Maybe we would all benefit if corporations wielded more political power, not less.

Ever since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, it’s been fashionable to deplore (with full-on …

From the Freedom Rides to the L.A. City Council

Desegregating a Houston Coffee Shop Helped Change America—and My Life

by Robert Farrell | March 12, 2015

When traveling by air, rail, or bus across country on business or pleasure, I always recall the summer of 1961, when the Freedom Rides made interstate travel the democratic activity …

discrimination