On April 19, 2021, RCPL assistant professor C. Aujean Lee presented her research to the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Her presentation, entitled “A Racism Typology and Government Responses to Anti-Asian Discrimination and Incidents,” shared research findings on her study with John C. Arroyo (University of Oregon) about state and local government statements on anti-Asian hate crimes in early 2020.
These initial reactions highlight challenges and failures of jurisdictions to push for anti-racism and policies that would support their Asian American constituents.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been at least 3,800 cases of harassment, threats, hate crimes and/or civil rights violations against Asian Americans. Many of these incidents invoke a long history of Asian Americans racialized as either yellow peril (the cause of the pandemic) and/or perpetual foreigners (they do not belong in the country). While Asian American activists and community groups have led the way in collecting these stories and issuing statements, government agencies are behind in naming and/or calling attention to these incidents. This study examines state and local governments that chose to issue statements related to anti-Asian incidents to understand how the government's role in defining and reinforcing racial categories. Statements from 50 state governments and 104 cities within the largest metropolitan regions were analyzed between January 21 and May 1, 2020. These initial reactions highlight challenges and failures of jurisdictions to push for anti-racism and policies that would support their Asian American constituents. The study has important implications because of the ways in which government rhetoric can lead to violent eruptions such as in the recent Atlanta shooting and because other populations have experienced increased harassment since the onset of the pandemic.
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
