TAAF Statement on the Attack of Professor Aki Maehara

TAAF is deeply disheartened by the brutal attack on Japanese American Professor of the history of racism, Aki Maehara. A Vietnam war veteran and respected elder, Mr. Maehara was riding his bicycle home when he was struck by a driver who reportedly shouted racial slurs. He sustained serious injuries and is now recovering at home, although he has already resumed his teaching duties. We urge the Montebello Police Department to investigate this hate-driven incident with the urgency it deserves, and we are grateful to the Los Angeles community for standing in solidarity with Professor Maehara and his family.

According to our 2025 STAATUS Index, 63% of Asian Americans feel unsafe in everyday spaces, and an equal percentage fear they will be targets of discrimination in the next five years. This fear is not unfounded—our data also shows that more than 1 in 4 Americans believe Chinese Americans pose a threat to U.S. society.

The attacker directed anti-Chinese slurs at Professor Maehara, who is of Japanese descent—yet another painful reminder that racism does not distinguish between ethnicities within our communities. We must come together and remain unified as a community; an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

TAAF remains steadfast in our commitment to advancing safety for all AANHPIs across the country. And we must do it together. TAAF encourages more individuals to be trained in upstander, bystander, and de-escalation tactics through partners like Right To Be so you can be prepared to support or de-escalate, should you need to.