“If only black people care about Black Lives Matter then nothing’s gonna change"
Captain Marvel star Gemma Chan has said more people need to talk about anti-Asian hate.
In an interview with Vogue, the British Chinese actress spoke openly about racist abuse in America and the UK.
Because Chan’s own parents had experienced verbal abuse at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, she recalled living in a worry for them.
“I just remember feeling so worried for them all the time, any time they went out, and just worried for their safety; worried that one of those incidents might escalate,” Chan said.
The 38-year-old went on to compare how Black Lives Matter rallied everyone together. “If only black people care about Black Lives Matter,” she said, “then nothing’s gonna change.”
With this in mind, Chan said more people need to talk about Stop Asian Hate. “And if only Asians are talking about Stop Asian Hate, nothing is going to change. And it’s only when we stick up for one another, and we stand side by side, that things will shift.”
Chan also said she feels a duty to speak up about racism. “Actually, we kind of have a duty to, in a way that our parents perhaps weren’t able to as first-generation immigrants.”
In other news, senior Asian Americans are learning self-defense in response to the rise in attacks against elderly Asians.