Queens Public Library hosts bystander trainings to combat anti-Asian hate crimes

A young Queens resident protest anti-Asian hatred at a rally in Sunnyside in February. Photo by Walter Karling

By David Brand

The Queens Public Library is teaching New Yorkers how to respond in the face of racism and hate crimes, with three bystander intervention trainings planned for this week.

QPL will facilitate the virtual, interactive workshops in three languages — Korean on Tuesday, Mandarin on Wednesday and English on Thursday. The library system decided to organize the programs in response to the disturbing rise in anti-Asian American-Pacific Islander hate crimes in New York City and across the country, said President and CEO Dennis Walcott. 

“The year-long rise in anti-Asian acts of racism, hate, harassment and violence is a devastating reminder of the long history of such incidents in our country,” Walcott said. “They are alarming and intolerable.”

All sessions are free and conducted over Zoom. 

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

6 to 7:30 p.m.

This session will be in Korean. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/92492021938?pwd=Ylh1N1kwT0R2UnNWUFNsSVAwOGFWdz09 Passcode: 635985 Webinar ID: 924 9202 1938

Wednesday, April 14

7 to 8: 30 p.m.

This session will be in Mandarin Chinese. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/97731143388?pwd=Q3FZdmk2RTBVTUoyNC9ZcEVKOWpUUT09 Passcode: 391329 Webinar ID: 977 3114 3388

Thursday, April 15, 2021

6 to 7:30 p.m.

This session will be in English. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/99149327666?pwd=UXB3UC9Gck4vU0YxV1RjRTkzdGNGZz09 Passcode: 547405 Webinar ID: 991 4932 7666