Stronger than Hate: Our Response to Racism and the Atlanta-Area Spa Killings

Today we mourn the murder of eight people in Georgia that includes six Asian women — and we are appalled by the increased acts of anti-Asian hate and violence across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The horrific events in Georgia underscore the importance of working to counter anti-Asian racism. At the outset of the pandemic last March, USC Pacific Asia Museum experienced increased acts of anti-Asian racism that spurred discussions about the need for a campus-wide initiative to confront the rising tide of identity-based hatred.   

These discussions prompted USC Shoah Foundation and USC Museums to launch the USC Stronger than Hate initiative, a project dedicated to rooting out and resisting hate in its many forms: antisemitism, anti-Black and anti-Asian racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, and the many other ways of othering.  

The USC Stronger than Hate initiative brings together staff and faculty, schools and centers, and, of course, our students to provide practical educational tools and resources, a new way to map and illustrate divisive issues, and many resources for connection, outreach and support.   

Over the past year, USC Shoah Foundation has also worked with its partners to design programs that directly address anti-Asian racism and build empathy, understanding, and respect in classrooms around the world.  

As we witness the recent events in Georgia, we must recognize that the roots of anti-Asian hatred are deep rooted. In this powerful testimony, liberator Shiro Takeshita recalls instances of anti-Japanese hate that targeted Japanese Americans after they returned home from internment camps following World War II.  

Together we are Stronger than Hate!