Copy Link Since the pandemic began, violence against Asian-Americans has skyrocketed. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are being blamed for the coronavirus, encouraged in part by politicians like former President Donald Trump who have used xenophobic and racist language like "China virus" or "Kung flu." Anti-Asian hate crimes grew nearly 150% in major US cities and those numbers are probably underreported as many folks don’t report what happened to the police. Student journalists from PBS NewsHour's Student Reporting Labs at Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio pitched us the idea to make a video exploring why it’s so hard to get racist violence charged as hate crimes. We also spoke to a group of young organizers from Alameda, California called the Youth Activists of Alameda who are working to combat Asian hate and other social injustices in their community.