Exploring “Unmask the Racism”: A Student Project
It goes without saying that some pretty tragic events have occurred in the past couple of months. It may seem as if, no matter where you look, there is only negativity and strife in the world; a mental burden that is hard to disassemble. Thankfully, on the other contrary, there is also a lot of (if not more) positivity in this world. You might not realize it, but there is always someone doing good for others. One such example is a movement called Unmask the Racism, which is independently run by CU student Jordan Lee and her team of fellow academics. In short, Unmask the Racism strives to eradicate hate targeted–unjustly–at racial and ethnic minorities, particularly those of Asian heritage. It is also picking up steam; it has already been featured on Rocky Mountain PBS and its Instagram page–@unmasktheracism–is gaining momentum! Explore how the team structured their project and became inspired to take on such a daunting task below!
What exactly is Unmask the Racism and how did you go about creating it?
Unmask the racism is a social media campaign centered around anti-Asian racism. We formed this group in response to the rise of anti-Asian attacks throughout the United States and the in world this past spring. Last May, we decided that we had to do something about it. Our initial plan was to fundraise money to support local Asian restaurants and businesses who received lower foot traffic and revenues than other businesses as a result of xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans. However, after researching ways to support local Asian communities, we realized that we also had a duty to support education efforts, for ignorance is a key source of fear and hatred. Through a combination of education efforts and campaigns, we encourage our followers to support local Asian restaurants and businesses and to contribute to the widespread efforts of dismantling racism.
What is it you hope to achieve with this project?
With this project, we hope to 1) spark conversations about Asian American history, 2) give some context to the current spike in anti-Asian hate, and 3) connect individuals, both Asians and other advocates, to actionable resources in order to help dismantle racism. Through this, we also hope to provide a space for our followers to learn about positive representation of Asians. For instance, with our #WokItOut challenge, we have encouraged people to eat at local Asian restaurants, leave positive reviews on social media sites like Yelp, and post about it for their friends to see! We have also fundraised to cater food from local Asian restaurants to essential workplaces. Our most recent project is More Than a Thousand Cranes, where we have been folding cranes with various communities to provide a sense of healing through story-telling while also creating an intentional space for discussion and reflection through origami.
Why is this important to you all, as CU students? What inspired you to start something like this?
As CU students, we feel it is incredibly important to be aware of the world around us and to use our skills/resources to make an impact. This project was largely a reaction to the recent rise in anti-Asian hate, and we were inspired by other organizations like Wash the Hate, Welcome to Chinatown, and Woks for Washington (i.e. other groups promoting racial equality with an emphasis on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders). For us, it’s all about intervening where we can and sharing information with others. CU Boulder’s campus is lacking ethnic diversity as well as inclusive spaces for racial minorities, so we plan on sharing this message with the university’s communities in hopes of mitigating Asian discrimination on and off campus.