Hannah Beier

With anti-Asian hate in U.S. rising, parents grapple over whether to talk to their children

After eight people were killed in the shootings at three Atlanta-area spas, including six women of Asian descent, Stefany Stuber sat down to talk to her seven-year-old daughter, Olivia. “I really felt like this was a time for me to speak up and address the situation, address the fact that this has been happening forever, forever and a day,” said bartender Stuber, a 40-year-old Korean-American who lives in Philadelphia. As a parent, she has strived to celebrate her and her daughter's Korean heritage but also be open with Olivia about racism and discrimination. "I want her to understand things because I think, at least for me, understanding things is the first step to coming up with solutions," Stuber said.

Across the United States, Asian-Americans and Asians reeled at the news of the shooting spree. here Authorities said the 21-year-old white male suspect told them he had a sex addiction and that the attacks may not have had a racist motivation. But after a year in which reports of hate crimes against Asians, regardless of their national origin, skyrocketed, the bloodshed caused more outrage, fear and demands here for a government response. Rights advocates say the surge, against the background of a long history of discrimination, is largely the result of Asian- Americans being blamed for the coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Former U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the "China Virus" and "kung flu," rhetoric that some said inflamed anti-Asian sentiment.

This story, published by Reuters, features my photography, video, and reporting and is written by Maria Caspani.