Whistle campaign counters rising anti-Asian violence

In the United States, yellow has been the hue of racism and xenophobia against Asians for more than a century, used to raise the false threat of a "yellow peril". Now a group of Asian Americans is reclaiming the color and turning it into a symbol of self-protection and solidarity.

The Yellow Whistle campaign distributes whistles nationwide to those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities at a time when violence against Asians is on the rise across the country.

"When you're in danger, blow the whistle. If you want to help, but you can't help because you're old, or you're scared, blow the whistle," said Li-En Chong, a co-founder of the campaign. "If you hear the whistle, or you see people blowing the whistle because they need help, call 911.Police are here to protect us. They know about this campaign."

Anti-Asian hate incidents increased 164 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared with the same period a year ago, in 22 large US cities and counties, according to data from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, while overall hate crimes fell 7 percent in 2020.

The total number of such incidents reported to police in the first quarter of this year was 95, compared with 36 in the first quarter of 2020, the center said, though many or most incidents are believed to have gone unreported.

Amid the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, some people have chosen to buy guns, pepper spray or Tasers for defense, though such items are restricted or illegal to carry in some US states.

"First of all, there is a legal issue whether you can possess such things or buy such things," said Fred Teng, president of the America China Public Affairs Institute," and when you use it, is it legal?

"The beauty of a whistle is that it is perfectly legal to own one, and it's perfect to blow a whistle. You will not be arrested for blowing a whistle," he said.

After the Yellow Whistle campaign's launch in April, the project has grown from an original goal of distributing 10,000 whistles to now providing 500,000 nationwide.

The first whistles went to groups that serve the elderly in Manhattan's Chinatown, but more than 100 organizations in nearly all 50 states have since joined the campaign.

Each whistle comes attached to a coiled wrist cord, not a lanyard, because a lanyard could be wrapped around the carrier's neck if grabbed by an assailant.

"In nature, yellow is the color of daffodils and sunflowers, symbolizing the advent of spring, bringing hope, optimism and enlightenment," said Agnes Hsu-Tang, an archaeologist and consulting scholar for the Penn Museum in Philadelphia and another of the campaign's co-founders.

"Since 1882, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was established, the color yellow has been weaponized for racism and xenophobia in America. We decided to reappropriate and take back the color yellow. We are literally whistleblowing against racism, discrimination and violence," Hsu-Tang added.

She said a whistle is an ideal way to signal danger because it doesn't need batteries and has no language barrier. It can't be turned against the victim, like pepper spray or weapons. And if an assailant grabs the wrist coil, it comes off.

The Yellow Whistle campaign sprang from a brutal attack on an Asian woman on March 29 in New York City. Security guards failed to intervene while a man kicked and stomped a 65-year-old Filipino woman near Times Square, yelling, "You don't belong here."

Oscar Tang, another co-founder of the Yellow Whistle campaign, said: "We have to stand up for our rights, we have to speak out, we have to bring attention to this problem. We see many police officers here over the city, they cannot do the job by themselves, they need support, they need people to stand up and bring attention to the problem. Through that, hopefully, we can bring the situation gradually under control."

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com