WASHINGTON, D.C. (HawaiiNewsNow) – May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, and the Asian American Foundation is out with a new report shedding light on perceptions of Americans of Asian descent.

The fifth annual Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the U.S., or STAATUS Index, shows the effects of toxic stereotypes and how information consumption habits shape attitudes toward AANHPIs.

Data shows 40% of Americans think Asian Americans are more loyal to a country in Asia than to the U.S. A quarter of Americans think Chinese Americans are a threat to America.

“It reflects, as you can imagine, just this increasingly xenophobic rhetoric and anti-immigrant rhetoric that we’re seeing, around the country,” said Norman Chen, CEO of The Asian American Foundation, which is based in Washington.

“We are worried about, as continued tensions rise right between U.S. and China and competitive threats rise, that there is this growing underlying negative sentiment about not only China but Chinese Americans, about Asian Americans, and we only have to go back to COVID and see how inflammatory rhetoric about who is, who was causing COVID and where that came from that led to a massive spike in attacks against our community.”

Researchers hope the report will encourage more education and awareness about AANHPI history and contributions.

To see the full report, click here.

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