Nonprofit: The Asian American Foundation Report
The Asian American Foundation hired me to bring a more narrative lens to their keystone report The STAATUS Index. I took data points and key messages from the team and drafted the report.
STAATUS Index Report 2024
Introduction
Perceptions about a community carry weight. They can influence who is hired, which legislations are passed, whose stories are told by Hollywood, and which historical events children learn about in school. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) know these challenges. Long-held misperceptions and stereotypes threaten our safety, sense of belonging, and access to opportunity. The STAATUS Index (Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the United States) is the leading, annual survey of Americans’ attitudes towards AANHPIs. When the report first launched in 2021, it was one of the first national analyses of its kind in 20 years. Today, it is the only multi-year, nationally representative study to collect data on the perspectives of other racial groups about AANHPIs.
Over the years, STAATUS has become a reliable pulse on issues AANHPIs face. Our findings have been used to educate, inform, and make evidence-based decisions in efforts including academic research, political action, and community programs. The data reveals sources of influences on perceptions about the community and how harmful stereotypes evolve and persist year over year. Using STAATUS data we can consider important questions such as:
In what ways are pandemic-era anti-Asian sentiments still present?
Do U.S.-China relations influence treatment of the AANHPI community?
How recognizable are AANHPIs in the media?
How do people think of AANHPI safety, in the wake of mass shootings in California, Georgia, and Texas?
For the first time, the report includes expanded subgroup analyses with data about East Asians, Filipinos,South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs), as well as more year-over-year insights where relevant. Each new element in the 2024 STAATUS Index improves tracking and deepens our understanding of trends so we can advance efforts that fight hate and violence, reclaim AANHPI narratives, and celebrate the stories and histories of our diverse community.