Chinese Media Engagement and Collaboration
We collaborated with Chinese language media outlets to speak on their shows or host segments about community safety. These segments tend to be much longer than advertisements, as long as 25 minutes, which allows for a deeper discussion of issues. We used these platforms to educate viewers about the resources available to victims and survivors of harm, cross-racial healing, and root cause solutions for community safety.
Example Topics
History of anti-Asian hate, Asian American Movements, and Cross-Racial Solidarity
The political director of CPA discussed the history of anti-Asian hate and the Asian American movement that emerged from the civil rights movement. She then discussed the importance and history of cross-racial solidarity for Asian American communities. For example, Asian American civil rights gains were built upon victories won by Black and Brown organizers. To help build more cross-racial solidarity and achieve mutual victories, we can foster more cross-racial interactions to reduce stereotypes and understand our common struggles. The segment continued with a positive and holistic vision of community safety where we can rely on our neighbors to help us through challenges rather than having to live in fear. To achieve this vision, we need to address root causes of harm, such as poverty and a lack of mental health support, to help people thrive and to build connections with others.
Youth Support as a Strategy to Reduce Anti-Asian Hate
The executive director of CYC talked about how the pandemic and other challenges created stressful situations for youth and reduced available support. For example, students living in cramped households may be too embarrassed to speak comfortably with social workers or other support systems. CYC discussed how outreach to youth through school partnerships and other strategies can help connect youth and families to resources to help them feel safe. This includes education about anti-Asian behavior and cross-racial understanding, empowering youth to speak out against racism, and restorative practices to help people understand the harm they caused and to understand the root causes of harm.
Long-term Solutions to Anti-Asian Hate
The political director of CPA gave examples of strategies to build cross-racial healing and solidarity from CCSJ’s programming. She described CCSJ’s membership exchange program which brought Black and Chinese community members together to understand each other’s neighborhoods and histories. By understanding each other’s struggles, we can develop empathy for each other. She also highlighted opportunities to practice empathy and mutual support in our daily lives outside of structured programs. The segment concluded with a discussion of the scarcity mindset and how we can instead take a solidarity approach that can be more successful in winning resources for our communities.
Victims Services and Rights
CYC hosted a multi-season talk show called “Community and You.” One episode focused on the services CYC provides to victims of violence and how it helps them communicate with government agencies, including the police and District Attorney’s office. CYC walked through the experiences of victims and the challenges they face in accessing services and how holistic victims services can help them recover, including through mental health and financial support.
Street and Merchant Outreach
Another episode of CYC’s talk show featured CYC’s street outreach team. The episode explained how street outreach helps community members and small business owners get the help they need and feel safer in going about their daily lives. Members of the outreach team spoke during the segment, which helped people get to know their faces and build familiarity.
Keys to Success
Cultural and Linguistic Competency
Cultural and linguistic competency allows viewers to access and resonate with information more readily. Although English speakers can be subtitled, the ability to use accessible phrases and idioms can be more persuasive for audience members.
Preexisting Relationships and Reputation
CCSJ partner organizations have long-standing relationships and strong reputations with Chinese American media outlets. As individual organizations and as a coalition, we prioritize reaching out to these media outlets to share information and offer our perspectives. This allows talk show hosts to be more comfortable with inviting us as guests on their shows. Close relationships with media outlets, trust, and demonstrated competence also allows media outlets to trust us with producing shows hosted by our staff.
Links to Examples
Content warning: videos may depict attacks against Asian Americans
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