OUR STORY
We started #HATEISAVIRUS because these issues are personal to us. Not only have we experienced racism growing up and in recent times, but we were seeing story after story about the hate crimes against our Asian American community fueled by the fears and misinformation around Coronavirus.
WE WERE SEEING…
6, 7, 8 year olds
getting bullied by their peers and the elderly getting brutally attacked in broad daylight. So much so that the FBI issued a warning to law enforcement about a rise in hate crimes.
80% drop in business
Asian-led small businesses were reporting up to an 80% drop in business months before the government even mandated shelter-in-place.
Seeing all of this, none of us could stay quiet and stand back. We had to do something. Then fate brought us together. Bryan and Tammy each came across Michelle’s social media post about wanting to rally the community and reached out to see how we could help via social media. We immediately hopped on a call together to introduce ourselves and brainstorm.
Turns out, we had the perfect start to a team.
Tammy Cho founded BetterBrave, a nonprofit which helps empower workers with the knowledge they need to navigate toxic workplaces and was a highly-shared resource throughout the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. I could share my nonprofit and campaign experience.
Michelle Hanabusa is the founder of UPRISERS, a community-driven clothing brand making a large-scale impact. She could bring the creative direction and branding of the movement to life.
Bryan Pham is the founder of Asian Hustle Network, a community of over 50,000 Asian leaders and entrepreneurs, and could bring his experience with partnerships and community.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM:
We launched #HATEISAVIRUS with 3 primary goals.
1. Raise awareness
of these issues across our Asian American community and stand in solidarity with communities beyond
2. Educate and equip our community
with tactical strategies on how to respond to the hate and racism
3. And raise money
to provide relief to small, Asian-led businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19.
OUR PROGRESS
Since launching our movement, we’ve reached over 5 million impressions through the efforts our community advocates and leaders, including Megan Lee, Leonard Lim, SUCH, Sara Benincasa, Tim Chiou, Adrienne Lawrence.
We’ve seen thousands of posts from supporters posting with #HATEISAVIRUS and what this movement means to them.
And we’ve seen artists, illustrators, and musicians creating encouraging and healing art to capture how many of us feel about the rising hate and racism. Our team has also grown to something much larger than the three of us.
After launching our grassroots campaign, we heard from our community all the different additional ways we could be a resource during this time.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and growing community,
and it’s thanks to you all. We can’t wait to see what comes next and the intentional, meaningful impact we’ll make together.
Sincerely, Tammy Cho and Michelle Hanabusa
