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Clevelander Xinyuan Cui hasn鈥檛 been on a Regional Transit Authority bus since November when another passenger harassed Cui 鈥� saying Cui was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I did wrong. I didn鈥檛 do anything. I wanted to say something for myself. I just couldn鈥檛 get the words out,鈥� Cui said. 鈥淭hat moment was so horrible. I felt like my whole body couldn鈥檛 function.鈥�

It鈥檚 incidents like this that have many Asian American and Pacific Islanders, sometimes referred to as AAPIs, living in fear.

The online Stop AAPI Hate reporting center 鈥� which has tracked incidents since March 2020 鈥� logged more than 2,800 instances of AAPI hate in the U.S. in 2020.

Often, these hate crimes and acts of discrimination have turned violent.

Noel Quintana, 61, was slashed across the face in New York. 

Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, was fatally attacked on a San Francisco street.

Those are just two names on a long list of violent attacks from just this calendar year.

鈥淚n that moment, I just felt by myself,鈥� Cui said, noting that nobody else on the bus intervened when Cui faced the racist taunt. 鈥淚 saw people look at her, but nobody said anything.鈥�

Sharing that fear is LJ, the owner of LJ Shanghai, a restaurant in Cleveland鈥檚 AsiaTown. People have called the restaurant, not to place an order, but to spew racism.

鈥淭hey say 鈥極h, why don鈥檛 you go back to your country,鈥欌�� LJ said. "I don鈥檛 know what I should say. I was mad and sad. You don鈥檛 even know me.鈥�

Gabriel Kramer discussed the issue of AAPI hate on the Sound of Ideas on March 4. You can hear that conversation in the audio player above.

LJ is afraid that the verbal abuse could get worse. The restaurant is still only offering to-go orders to keep anyone from entering the business. She also makes sure that her employees aren鈥檛 walking home alone.

Dr. Stacey Litam, a Cleveland State University professor who studies the impact of racism toward AAPIs, said she鈥檚 not surprised that bystanders stood by on the bus. Behavior like that actually perpetuates such racism and people need to take a stand against it, she said.

鈥淲e have to roll up our own sleeves and do the work that鈥檚 needed. We can鈥檛 wait for others to do the work instead,鈥� Litam said.

That鈥檚 a part of allyship, which is one the requests of Asian-Americans 鈥� to be aware of the issues, to educate others about them and to help take action when it鈥檚 needed.

Litam said some have struggled historically to be allies for Asian-Americans because of the Model Minority Myth. That鈥檚 a broad-stroke stereotype that incorrectly paints all Asian-Americans in seemingly good ways 鈥� well behaved, successful and wealthy.

鈥淲e do struggle with poverty. We do struggle with homelessness and chronic mental health conditions. We do struggle with hate crimes and murder,鈥� Litam said.

Litam said the Model Minority Myth is a tactic of white supremacy. It鈥檚 used to deny that systemic racism exists by putting Asian-Americans on the same level as white people. That pits minority groups against each other and suggests that some people wouldn鈥檛 consider Asian-Americans as people of color, she said.

鈥淛ust recognizing that Asian Americans are also in need of support and also face racism, would be a huge step in the right direction,鈥� Litam said.

Xinyuan Cui especially hopes for allyship from other people of color. 

鈥淚鈥檓 really hoping that non-white people can retain solidarity,鈥� Cui said. 鈥淥ur hardship can be different, but the pain, we all share that.鈥�

Many have called on political leaders to take action against the increase of these racist attacks.

President Donald Trump and others continued to refer to the coronavirus as the 鈥淐hina Virus鈥� and it put a target on the backs of Chinese-Americans and Asian-Americans. 

Litam said that that rhetoric gave people who already had hatred toward AAPIs an excuse to attack and that it scapegoated people who had nothing to do with the virus at all.

Politicians continued to say 鈥淐hina Virus鈥� even after it was evident that hate crimes toward Asian-Americans increased.

But some politicians have recently taken action.  

Shortly after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order condemning racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against AAPIs.  

This month, Cleveland City Council passed an emergency resolution to condemn racism, xenophobia and hate crimes 鈥渆specially against Asians and Asian American Pacific Islanders during this pandemic.鈥� 

The resolution also called for the Ohio Department of Health and the city鈥檚 health department to incorporate anti-racism messaging in their work. 

While more than 2,800 incidents of Asian hate crimes in the US were reported in 2020, Litam suggests that many acts of racism go unreported.

鈥淢any of us were raised with the cultural beliefs not to make waves, not be seen,鈥� Litam said.

But she encouraged AAPIs to resist that. Asian-Americans need to share these stories in order to educate the world on the severity of the issue, Litam said.

Litam not only encourages AAPIs to report incidents when they occur, she also wants people to consider taking bystander training, so allies know how to help when they see racial harassment. 

The AAPI community is trying to draw more attention to these incidents, which they say do not get enough media attention. 

鈥淚 think the Asian-American community has been asking for help for a really long time. I think that our stories and our cries for help haven鈥檛 been heard,鈥� Litam said. 鈥淢y hope is that we continue this trend of young people educating others about these marginalized experiences so that in a couple years, people have the language to say, 鈥榯his is racism and this is how to help it. And this is how to extinguish it.鈥欌��

Tik Tok has become an avenue for AAPIs to demand attention to what is going on.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud to be Asian-American, but I鈥檓 tired of being treated like a perpetual foreigner in my own country.鈥� 鈥� @imtiffanyyu 

鈥淵ou are not anti-racist if you are anti-Asian. There is no room for hate.鈥� 鈥� @samueljhyun 

鈥淥ur community is being attacked and we are dying to be heard.鈥� 鈥� @amandangocnguyen

Social media and #StopAsianHate, #StopAAPIHate and #HateIsAVirus are ways that Asian-Americans seek to take control the narrative.