Stopping Anti-Asian Hate With a Comic Strip — and a Cat
Artist MariNaomi’s mural inspires in Southern California
When I first heard about MariNaomi’s comic mural last month, I knew I had to take my five-year-old twins to see it.
An award-winning author and illustrator, MariNaomi installed a Stop AAPI Hate mural in Garvey Park in Rosemead, a city in Southern California. The 60-by10-foot mural, unveiled on May 28, covers the side of a recreational park building and will remain there for the next few months.
My daughters love art and comic books. But more importantly, MariNaomi captured in six panels what I have struggled to tell my daughters about the racist attacks against Asian Americans. It’s not easy to discuss, but I’ve never wanted to shield my kids from current events. As a Taiwanese American freelance journalist, I spent most of 2020 covering the anti-Asian racist attacks. During the day, I’d talk to experts about the current statistics and read about the brutal assaults. At night, I’d talk to my kids about people “being rough to grandmas and grandpas because they are Asian.” They asked me why. My answer: Some people blame us for “the sickness” (what my kids call Covid-19).
