More substantive steps are now being taken to try and address the root causes of hate and bigotry.
Public schools across New York City will teach Asian-American history next school year, and efforts are underway to pass a bill to mandate its teaching across the state.
“It’s a lot easier for people when they need a scapegoat to blame people, in this case Asian Americans that they just don’t know a whole lot about,” said New York state senator John Liu.
“And the only way to eradicate this kind of ignorance is through our public schools all throughout the state.”
The hope is that the attacks against Asians seen in recent years – and the fear generated – will soon be relegated to the history books, said observers.
“We’re trying to get back to normal. It feels safer now that there are some people on the street,” said Chinatown Ice Cream Factory co-owner Christina Seid.
“In the beginning of the pandemic, you could hear a coin drop and there would be nobody on the street so that was really extremely unsafe. I feel a little bit better now.”
Source: CNA
