MetroFocus: October 17, 2022

> TONIGHT, RISING AGAINST ASIAN HATE.

MORE THAN A YEAR AFTER THE DEADLY ATLANTA SPA SHOOTINGS, A REVEALING PBS DOCUMENTARY TAKES US BEYOND THE HEADLINES TO MEET THE PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THE VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS.

A PERSONAL STORY OF TRAGEDY, FIGHT, AND RESILIENCE.

'METROFOCUS' STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪♪

> THIS IS 'METROFOCUS,' WITH RAFAEL PI ROMAN, JACK FORD AND JENNA FLANAGAN.

> 'METROFOCUS' IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, SYLVIA A. AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM, THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND, BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ, BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.

AND BY --

> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO 'METROFOCUS.'

I'M JENNA FLANAGAN.

IN MARCH OF 2021, A 21-YEAR-OLD MURDERED EIGHT PEOPLE AT THREE SPAS IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

SIX OF THE EIGHT VICTIMS WERE WOMEN OF ASIAN DESCENT.

THE SHOOTING SHOOK AN ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ALREADY RATTLED BY A SPATE OF VICIOUS ATTACKS FROM COAST TO COAST.

ATLANTA BECAME A GALVANIZING MOMENT FOR THE AAPI COMMUNITY, PURR SPURRING A NEW ERA OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM AND ACTION.

NOW AS VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICAN CONTINUES TO SURGE IN CITIES ACROSS AMERICA, INCLUDING TRAGICALLY HERE IN NEW YORK, THE NEW PBS DOCUMENTARY, 'RISING AGAINST ASIAN HATE' EXPLORES THE ATLANTA SPA SHOOTINGS AND THEIR AFTERMATH.

HERE'S A PREVIEW.

THAT WAS WHEN I STARTED TO DO MY HUNT IN SEARCH FOR MY MOTHER.

I REMEMBER CALLING THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE WOMEN.

I DON'T THINK SOME OF THEM BELIEVED IT WAS MY MOTHER WHEN THEY WERE CALLING.

THEY WERE LIKE, YEAH, THESE WERE ASIAN WOMEN.

I'M LIKE, YES, MY MOTHER'S ASIAN.

MY BROTHER CALLED MANY A TO GET AN UPDATE.

HAD I HEARD ANYTHING?

WHO'S GOING ON?

AT THAT POINT I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH THE MEDICAL EXAMINER, AND SHE TOLD ME, YES, THEY DID HAVE A BODY DOWNTOWN OF A WOMAN NAMED YOUNG YU.

THAT WAS MY MOTHER.

♪♪

AND JOINING ME NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY AS PART OF OUR EXPLORING HATE INITIATIVE, EXAMINING THE ROOTS AND RISE OF HATE IN AMERICA AND ACROSS THE GLOBE, ARE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GINA KIM.

GINA WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

THANK YOU.

WE'D ALSO LIKE TO WELCOME THE DIRECTOR OF THE DOCUMENTARY, TITI YU.

WELCOME TO 'METROFOCUS.'

THANK YOU.

AND ALSO JOINING US IS ROBERT PETERSON.

ROBERT LOST HIS MOTHERED IN ATLANTA SHOOTINGS AND IS FEATURED IN FILM.

ROBERT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

ABSOLUTELY.

TITI, I WANT TO BEGIN WITH YOU.

WHAT SPURRED YOU THE PROCESS OF MAKING THIS DOCUMENTARY, AND INCLUDING ADIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW FROM THE WAY THE STORY PLAYED OUT IN SOCIAL MEDIA.

YEAH.

I THINK BACK IN LATE DECEMBER, EARLY JANUARY, 2021, A LOT OF USED IN ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY BEGAN SEEING ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ALL THESE REALLY, REALLY GRUESOME ATTACKS AGAINST THE ELDERLY AND ASIAN WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SO AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE WERE SEEING THESE VIDEOS, WE WERE ALSO HEARING ELECTED OFFICIALS REALLY BLAMING THIS PANDEMIC ON THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR A LOT OF USED IN ASIAN COMMUNITY WORK SAW THIS STORY IN THOSE PARALLEL TERMS.

SO WHEN MARCH 16th HAPPENED, A LOT OF US WERE NOT SURPRISED.

WE WERE -- WE FELT THIS WAS SOMETHING INEVITABLE, AND SO WHEN THIS STORY HAPPENED, A FEW MONTHS AFTER THIS STORY HAPPENED, GINA APPROACHED PBS TO DO A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE RISE IN ANTI-ASIAN HATE.

AND I KNEW THAT -- GINA AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS, AND WE KNEW THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO TELL THE STORY OF THE COMMUNITY IN GEORGIA, AND HOW THEY REALLY DEALT WITH THE TRAGEDY.

SO THAT'S HOW REALLY -- THAT'S THE STORY THAT WE WANTED TO TELL WAS THE STORY OF THE ATLANTA AND HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AFTER THIS TRAGEDY.

ROBERT, I JUST WANT TO GO TO YOU, BECAUSE YOU HAD THE TRAGIC EXPERIENCE, YOU LOST YOUR MOTHERED IN SHOOTINGS.

WATCHING YOUR STORY UNFOLDS INCLUDES UNIQUE ASPECTS OF HOW RACE AND RACISM AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY.

YES, ABSOLUTELY.

LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I DEFINITELY REMEMBER WHEN IT HAPPENED, AND YOU NEVER THINK IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU, AND THEN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO MY MOTHER AND TO SEE THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT BUT ALSO KNOWING THAT THIS WAS A CRIME OF HATE AND THIS WAS BASED ON RACIAL BIAS AGAINST MY MOTHER AND THEN ME BEING BLACK AND KOREAN, AGAIN, AND CONTINUOUSLY FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS AS BLACK PEOPLE BE ASIANS, IT WAS MORE PERSONAL TO ME NOW IN AN UNFORTUNATE WAY.

WITH THAT IN MIND THEN, GINA, I WANT TO BRING YOU INTO THE CONVERSATION AND ASK -- YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY VIEWER OF PBS, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT VARIOUS DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS AND THE STRUGGLES AND CHALLENGES THEY HAVE HAD IN AMERICA, BUT PERHAPS NOT AS MANY PEOPLE ARE FLUENT IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IS.

AND WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU FELT WAS INCREDIBLY NECESSARY WHEN IT CAME TO RETELLING THE STORY?

ABSOLUTELY.

WHEN WE DECIDED TO TELL THE STORY, WE REALLY FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT AS ASIAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS TO BE THE ONES TO TELL THIS STORY.

WE KNEW THIS WAS A UNIQUE MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY.

THE VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS IS NOTHING NEW.

WE ALL KNOW THAT.

IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

BUT WE DID FEEL THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE MOMENT.

DEFINITELY A UNIQUE MOMENT IN MY LIFETIME.

I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

SO WE FELT COMPELLED TO TELL THE STORY.

WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT RACE IN THIS COUNTRY IN A VERY BINARY, BLACK AND WHITE DISCUSSION, AND ASIANS ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT OF THAT CONVERSATION, AND ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE OFTEN FELT INVISIBLE, THAT OUR VOICES AREN'T HEARD, WE AREN'T GETTING YOUR ISSUES OUT THERE.

I DO THINK THIS WAS AN INFLECTION POINT FOR THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND A TIME FOR US TO SORT OF RISE UP AND SAY, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE ARE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION.

THIS IS HAPPENING TO US, AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP IT.

OF COURSE.

TITI, WHEN YOU BEGAN RESEARCHING OR REVISITING THIS STORY, WAS THERE SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU THAT YOU WERE JUST LIKE, THIS NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED?

OR PERHAPS WAS IT SOMETHING WHERE A CLEARER NARRATIVE OR DIFFERENT NARRATIVE WHEN YOU WENT BACK TO EXAMINE THAT EVENT?

YEAH.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE SHOOTING WAS A LOT OF THE MEDIA NARRATIVES REALLY, REALLY PORTRAY THESE WOMEN AS, YOU KNOW, TRAFFICKED, THAT THEY WERE SEX WORKERS.

MEANWHILE, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE MOMS AND GRANDMAS, AND THEY WERE HARD WORKING PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES.

SO I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO THE MEDIA, THERE WAS JUST A LOT OF MISINFORMATION ABOUT WHO -- WHO A LOT OF THE VICTIMS WERE.

AND I THINK THE OTHER THING IS THE WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE POLICE HANDLED NOT JUST THIS PARTICULAR CASE, BUT ALSO OTHER CASES WHEN IT COMES TO HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SENSE OF CALLOUSNESS AND INSENSITIVITY.

AND THAT GOES BEYOND, YOU KNOW, PARTY LINES.

AND I THINK THAT THOSE THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S DOCUMENTED.

ROBERT, GINA MENTIONED IN HER ANSWER THAT SO MUCH OF AMERICA IS UNDERSTOOD IN A VERY BINARY, AS SHE MENTIONED, BLACK AND WHITE MANNER.

I WONDER FOR SOMEONE WHO EXISTS -- YOU POINT OUTED IN FILM YOU'RE A BLACK MAN, BUT PROUDLY KOREAN AMERICAN.

HOW DID YOU COME TO, I GUESS, UNDERSTAND OR EXPERIENCE THE RISE IN ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT AND INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE THAT WAS REALLY STARTING TO PICK UP AFTER THE PANDEMIC EXPLODED?

AGAIN, I HAVE BEEN BLACK AND KOREAN ALL MY LIFE, AND SO AS A BLACK AND KOREAN MAN, I'VE EXPERIENCED RACISM ON -- BECAUSE OF MY RACIAL BACKGROUND, BEING BLACK AS WELL AS BEING KOREAN.

SO THIS IS NOT NEW TO ME.

BUT IN THIS INSTANCE AND OF MY MOTHER, AGAIN, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME OTHERS WERE RECOGNIZING AND RECEIVING ME AS KOREAN.

AND SO THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME TO MAKE SURE THAT I MADE SURE THAT I PRESENTED MYSELF AS KOREAN AND THAT I WAS UNAPOLOGETICALLY WHO I AM.

MY MOTHER WOULD WANT TO BE SILENT, QUIET, BUT SHE KNEW THIS WAS HAPPENING IN OUR LARGER WORLD, ESPECIALLY SINCE COVID.

SO I'M THE VOICE THAT SHE WANTS ME TO BE.

ROBERT, AS HER VOICE, EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE EIGHT VICTIMS IN TOTAL, I WOULD LIKE TO YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR MOTHER AND WHO SHE WAS.

MY MOTHER IS LIKE YOUR MOTHER, MANY KOREAN MOTHERS OUT THERE.

SHE LOVED HER FAMILY, WANTED TO WORK.

SHE WAS A WIFE TO MY FATHER, WHO WAS ALSO A MILITARY MAN, AND SHE RAISED TWO BEAUTIFUL BOYS, AND WE TURNED OUT TO BE PRETTY GOOD.

AND SHE JUST ALWAYS TAUGHT US TO BE RESPECTFUL.

SHE NEVER PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAD TO CHOOSE OR FEEL LIKE WE WERE MORE BLACK OR MORE KOREAN THAN OTHERS.

BUT WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCES OF NAVIGATING THIS WORLD AS A KOREAN MOTHER WITH A BLACK SON.

AND SO A LOT OF TIMES SHE COMMUNICATED WITH ME THROUGH FOOD, SO THAT'S WHY I HAVE A LOVE OF FOOD NOW, AND THAT'S ONE OF MY MISSIONS TO LOVE AND SHARE AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER THROUGH FOOD.

WHILE SHE DIDN'T HUG AND SAY I LOVE YOU MUCH, SHE WOULD OFTEN FEED ME AND SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH ME, SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT I THINK I MISS THE MOST.

AND AGAIN, WHAT I SAY TO OTHERS, THOSE ARE THE THINGS I WANT TO YOU CONNECT WITH HER.

SHE WAS JUST A REGULAR MOTHER.

SHE LOVED HER CHILDREN.

SHE THOUGHT SHE WOULD BE SAFE AT WORK, AND THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY DESERVES.

CAN YOU SHARE YOUR MOM'S NAME WITH US?

MY MOTHER IS YOUNG YU.

MY MOTHER WAS THE EIGHT AND LAST VICTIM FROM THAT DAY.

OKAY.

THE REASON I ASK YOU TO SHARE YOUR MOTHER'S NAME, I LEARN FROM COVERING WHEN THE STORY TOOK PLACE, SO MUCH OF THE MEDIA DIDN'T TRY TO ENGAGE WITH THE VICTIM'S NAMES OR STUMBLED THROUGH THEM BECAUSE MANY NATIVE ESTABLISH SPEAKERS AREN'T BILINGUAL.

THEY STRUGGLE WITH NAMES THAT AREN'T IN ENGLISH.

SO I WANT TO ASK YOU, GINA, WHEN IT COMES TO TELLING A FULLER RICHER STORY, I REMEMBER THAT BEING SOMETHING THAT WAS CLEARLY POINTED OUTED IN FILM.

THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATIONS OF THE VICTIM'S NAMES.

ABSOLUTELY.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WAS VERY PROBLEMATIC AND DISTURBING TO THE KOREAN COMMUNITY AND TO THE CHINESE COMMUNITY.

THE NAMES WERE SORT OF HORRIBLY PROANNOUNCED AND PEOPLE WERE CONFUSED ABOUT THE VICTIMS AND WHO DIED THAT DAY.

THEY HAD SOME DIFFICULTY FINDING THE FAMILY MAYBES AND BEING ABLE TO LOCATE THE FAMILY MEMBER.

AND THERE WAS ONE PERSON WHOSE FAMILY IS IN CHINA, AND IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO IDENTIFY THAT INDIVIDUAL AND REACH HER FAMILY.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO FACE.

WHEN YOU HAVE A NAME THAT IS MORE FAMILIAR.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T RECOGNIZE.

THESE WOMEN WERE LIVING IN AMERICA AS AMERICANS, WHO LOVED THIS COUNTRY, THERE TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILY, GOING TO WORK EVERY DAY AND WORKING VERY, VERY HARD, AND I THINK THIS SENSE OF BEING OTHER, PERPETUAL FOREIGNER, THEY'RE NOT AMERICAN.

BOBBY'S MOTHER, HER SONS ARE -- SHE MARRIED A G.I., AN AMERICAN SOLDIER.

SHE HAS TWO SONS WHO ARE AMERICAN, BLACK AMERICAN, ASIAN AMERICAN, AND YET WE SORT OF SAW THEM AS SOMETHING THAT'S NOT PART OF THIS COUNTRY AND FOREIGN.

AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ASIAN AMERICANS HAD TO DEAL WITH FOR GENERATIONS AND CENTURIES.

WE'RE ALWAYS SEEN AS THE PERPETUAL FOREIGNER.

NEVER REALLY PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE SOCIETY, WHEN WE HELPED BUILD IST SOCIETY, AND ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN HERE FOR DECADES, CENTURIES, GENERATIONS.

OF COURSE, YEAH.

IF I COULD, THAT'S WHAT LED TO THE DESERVING, UNDESERVING, THAT THESE WOMEN WERE UNDESERVING OF JUSTICE.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS THEY SAID, WE AS ASIANS TELL OUR OWN STORIES SO WE CAN CREATE AND SHAPE THAT NARRATIVE AND MAKE SURE IT'S TOLD RIGHT.

I REMEMBER WHEN THIS HAPPENED, WE TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT NARRATIVES FROM THE KOREAN NEWSPAPERS, OR THE KOREAN COMMUNITY, HOW WE WERE TALK AMONGST OURSELVES, HOW IT'S DIFFERENT, AND HOW THERE ARE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE MAIN MEDIA AND -- WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REPRESENTATION WITH THE POLICE FORCE, I OFTEN THINK, IF MY MOTHER SURVIVED, WOULD THERE HAVE BEEN SOMEONE WHO SPOKE KOREAN AND COMFORTED HER IN HER TIME OF TRAUMA?

I THINK THINGS LIKE THAT MATTER.

AS A DOMINANT GROUP PERSON YOU MAY NOT CONSIDER THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, BUT I THINK THIS STORY HIGHLIGHTS THAT, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING MY MOM'S STORY ALONG WITH THE OTHER VICTIMS AND CONTINUE PUSH, TELLING OUR NARRATIVE SO THEY DON'T GET IT WRONG.

OF COURSE.

AND IN ADDITION TO TELLING -- I WANT TO EMPHASIZE TELLING -- ONE OF THE THINGS THE FILM BRINGS FORWARD IS EVERYONE EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THE NUMBERS, THE INSTANCES OF ANTI-ASIAN HATE IS RISING, IT'S UNDERREPORTED.

TITI, I WANT TO ASK YOU, WHY IS THAT AN UNDERREPORTED NUMBER?

WHY IS IT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE GOING TO THE POLICE WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN ASSAULTED, HARASSED, WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN MISTREATED?

I THINK ASIAN AMERICANS UNDERREPORT HATE CRIMES.

I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS IS WHEN THEY DO REPORT SOMETIMES, THEY DON'T ALWAYS GET THE KIND OF REACTION FROM THE POLICE THAT THEY'RE -- YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM IS IMPORTANT.

YOU KNOW, AS BOBBY SAID EARLIER, SO ELOQUENTLY.

I THINK ASIAN AMERICANS ARE OFTEN, YOU KNOW, SEEN AS UNDESERVING OF THAT KIND OF JUSTICE, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, ASIAN AMERICANS ARE TAUGHT ALSO THAT -- DON'T MAKE WAVES.

YOU KNOW, KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, WORK HARD.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW WE BECOME AMERICAN.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TAUGHT.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK -- YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S CHANGING.

I THINK MARCH 16th, IF THERE'S ANYTHING TO COME OUT OF THIS TRAGEDY, I THINK IT'S THIS IDEA THAT THE ASIAN AMERICANS -- THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING UP WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS.

ROBERT, I SAW YOU NODDING YOUR HEAD.

CAN YOU EXPAND ON WHAT YOU WERE THINKING?

ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK THIS IS DEFINITELY CULTURAL.

AGAIN, THE MINORITY BE THE ASSIMILATION INTO MAINSTREAM CULTURE, WHETHER THAT LOOKS LIKE ADOPTING AN AMERICAN NAME OR TRYING TO ASSOCIATE OR ASSIMILATE WITH THE WHITE CULTURE, RIGHT, TO JUST EASE ON BY.

AND AGAIN, I THINK ALSO THIS IS PARALLEL TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GO TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IF THEY DON'T SPEAK IN OUR LANGUAGE OR BELIEVE US WHEN WE DO FINALLY SPEAK UP?

AGAIN, WITHIN MY FAMILY WE HAVE HAD THIS DEBATE ON THIS PURSUIT OF A HATE CRIME AGAINST THIS, AND MANY ARE FEARFUL THAT WE MAY LOSE, AND WHY PUT OUR FAMILY THROUGH THE TRA MA IF WE WON'T BE HEARD?

AGAIN, IT'S THE FIGHT.

MY MOTHER'S NOT COMING BACK, BUT THIS WILL BE FOR THE FIGHT COMING FORWARD, FOR THE ASIAN COMMUNITY TO SHOW, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.

WE CAN NO LONGER BE SILENT.

AS WE SEE MARGINALIZED GROUPS FACING THIS VIOLENCE WORK KNOW WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, THAT WE ARE ALL BEING ATTACKED BY VIOLENCE, PARTICULARLY GUN VIOLENCE, AND PARTICULARLY HERE IN GEORGIA.

SO AGAIN, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE TELL THIS INTERSECTION OF A STORY.

GINA, I ALSO WANTED TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON -- BECAUSE THE FILM DOESN'T -- IT DEALS WITH OF COURSE THE PRICE CRISIS AND TRAUMA OF WHAT HAPPENS BUT IT ENDS ON A POSITIVE NOTE, AND THAT'S HIGHLIGHTING THE ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM, PEOPLE RUNNING FOR OFFICE AND WINNING SEATS.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GROUP -- AND I ALWAYS TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING IT UP -- DESPITE WHAT PEOPLE MIGHT GENERALLY VOTE AS, ASIAN AMERICANS ARE NOT A MONOLITH.

NO, YOU'RE RIGHT, ASIAN AMERICANS ARE NOT A MONOLITH.

AND I DO THINK THAT THIS STEREOTYPE THAT ASIAN AMERICANS ARE THE MODEL MINORITY -- YOU KNOW, WHEN ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE THE LARGEST INCOME GAP DISPARITY OUT OF ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP IN THIS COUNTRY.

AND SO CERTAINLY THERE ARE PEOPLED IN ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY WHO DO EXTREMELY WELL AND ARE LEADERS IN THEIR INDUSTRY, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN ABJECT POVERTY.

THERE IS A HUGE GAP.

WE'RE NOT A MONOLITH.

WE'RE NOT ALL ALIKE AND WE DON'T THINK ALIKE.

WE DEFINITELY WANT TO SHOWCASE THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND DOING THE WORK.

WHEN WE WENT TO ATLANTA, WE KNEW THAT PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN WORKING IN THESE COMMUNITIES HAD BEEN WORKING ON THE GROUND, DOING THE HARD WORK FOR DECADES, FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THIS HAS BEEN TAKING PLACE, THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN THESE ATTACK AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS -- IT'S NOT LIKE ASIAN AMERICANS ALL OF A SUDDEN STARTED TO RISE UP AND SPEAK OUT.

IT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR A WHILE.

BUT IT IS A MOMENT THAT IS UNITING, I THINK, THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, MORE SO THAN, YOU KNOW, OTHER TIMES.

AND IT REALLY IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING THE SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION, AND IT REALLY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, A MOMENT FOR PEOPLE TO SORT OF REFLECT AND SAY, WHAT IS NEXT FOR THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY?

THAT SEEMS LIKE A NATURAL QUESTION FOR ESPECIALLY A DOCUMENTARY LIKE THIS TO END ON, BUT TITI, WAS THAT SORT OF THE INTENT IS TO SHOW OUT OF TRAGEDY CAN COME A TRIUMPH OF ACTIVISM AND PEOPLE MAKING SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN?

OR IF IT DOES, GOD FORBID, IT'S NOT HANDLED THE SAME WAY?

ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERY GENERATION -- I THINK GOING BACK TO WHAT GINA WAS SAYING THAT ASIAN AMERICANS, WE HAVE BEEN HERE IN THIS COUNTRY SINCE THE BEGINNING, AND WE BUILT THIS COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, AND EVERY TIME SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO AMERICA ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE, YOU KNOW, ASIAN AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY GET BLAMED, WHETHER THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WORLD WAR II OR CERTAINLY AFTER 911.

SO, AND AFTER EVERY ONE OF THOSE INCIDENTS, ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN HERE REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITIES AND PUTTING IN THE WORK.

SO ABSOLUTELY, I THINK, YOU KNOW -- THE ASIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION EARLIER CAME OUT WITH A STUDY THAT SAYS MORE AMERICANS NOW BLAME ASIAN AMERICANS FOR THE PANDEMIC THAN DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC.

SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT SAYS TO ME, THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS IS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY, BUT NEITHER ARE WE.

WE'RE HERE TO STAY.

AND HOW -- THIS QUESTION REALLY IS FOR THE ENTIRE PANEL, BUT ROBERT, I'LL START WITH YOU.

HOW DO YOU SEE -- WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP YOU NEED TO SEE TAKING PLACE SO THAT THERE'S BETTER UNDERSTANDING, BETTER COMMUNITY, BETTER VISIBILITY AMONGST THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AS PART OF THE AMERICAN FABRIC?

SO, I DEFINITELY LIKE THE STEP THAT WE'RE MOING TOWARDS NOW, STORY TELLING, RAISING AWARENESS AND INCREASING EDUCATION.

THIS IS PARALLEL TO MY EXPERIENCE AS A BLACK MAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF OUR PEOPLE AND HOW IT'S BEING SHARED AND TAUGHT.

I WENT TO AN HBCU, AND THAT'S HOW I FOUND OUT A LOT ABOUT MY AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY I WAS NOT TAUGHT IN K THROUGH 12.

AS WE CONTINUE TO SHARE STORIES, I THINK THAT'S A FORWARD MOVING STEP.

HOWEVER, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE INVEST IN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES AND HOLD OUR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE.

AGAIN, ANTI-HATE BILLS ARE GOOD, BUT THAT'S REACTIONARY TO SOMETHING, DAMAGE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CAUSED.

SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED IN THE WORK FORCE, SAFE GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE.

HOW ARE WE HELPING TO UPLIFT THESE COMMUNITIES?

AND I BELIEVE SOLIDARITY BETWEEN COMMUNITIES WILL GET US THERE.

THIS FIGHT WILL BE A CONTINUOUS FIGHT.

IT WILL BE ONE I'LL BE GLAD TO BE A PART OF, BUT AAM CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.

GINA, ARE YOU ALSO CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC?

AS A JOURNALIST -- JUST WATCHING WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING, I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REASONS WE MADE THIS FILM IS TO KEEP THIS ISSUED IN PUBLIC EYE.

I THINK A LOT OF TIMES WITH A LOT OF NEWS STORIES THEY SORT OF FALL AWAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, ATTACKS AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS HAVEN'T STOPPED, AND IT'S NOT STOPPING ANY TIME SOON.

ASIAN AMERICANS ARE THE ---ED IN FILM WE TALK ABOUT HOW ASIAN AMERICANS ARE THE LARGEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC IN THIS COUNTRY, ETHNIC GROUP IN THIS COUNTRY.

SO I'M ACTUALLY CURIOUS TO SEE HOW -- HOW THE SOCIETY RESPONDS TO THAT.

YOU KNOW?

LIKE, AS ASIAN AMERICANS, YOU KNOW, GRAB MORE POWER, AS THEY COME OUT MORE, AS THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, MORE SIGNIFICANT MEMBERS OF SOCIETY AND LEADERS IN SOCIETY, AS MANY ALREADY ARE, IT WILL BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW WE NAVIGATE THIS COUNTRY AND HOW -- WHAT THE RESPONSE IS.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, TITI, WE HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT, BUT I'D LOVE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS, AGAIN, ON WHAT I GUESS YOU SEE AS A POSITIVE STEP THAT COULD BE COMING OUT OF THIS.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO ME, ONE OF THE REALLY TOUCHING THINGS ABOUT SPEAKING TO THE COMMUNITY DOWN IN ATLANTA IS AFTER THE TRAGEDY, A LOT OF -- SOME OF THE COMMUNITY GROUPS WERE GOING LISTENING TOURS AMONGST IMMIGRANT GROUPS.

AND WE SAW A LOT OF TIMES, FOR THE FIRST TIME, FIRST GENERATION ASIAN AMERICANS COMING OUT TO EXPRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THEY'VE EXPERIENCED.

THIS IDEA THAT ASIAN AMERICANS, WE DON'T SPEAK OUT, FOR A LOT OF OUR PARENTS, THEY'VE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF THIS RACISM THEIR ENTIRE LIFE, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY'RE STARTING TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT IT.

SO I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT MORE OF THESE CONVERSATIONS HAPPEN GENERATIONALLY BUT ALSO WITHIN THE LARGER ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, WITH THAT WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE IT THERE.

BUT I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL THREE OF MY GUESTS, GINA KIM PRODUCER, TITU YU, PRODUCER.

A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE MORE SPOKEN ABOUT, THE RISE IN ASIAN AMERICAN HATE, BUT ALSO THE RESILIENCE OF THE AAPI COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, JENNA.

ABSOLUTELY.

> 'METROFOCUS' IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, SYLVIA A. AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM, THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND, BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ, BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION.