ST. LOUIS, Missouri — #VeryAsian.
It's a movement that's trending on Twitter, Instagram...and now in Hollywood thanks to one woman - KSDK Anchor/Reporter Michelle Li.
Li is Korean American and was anchoring a New Year's Day segment about food and traditions when she added on-air, "I ate dumpling soup. That's what a lot of Korean people do." Little did she know how her personal experiences would resonate with some viewers.
In fact, one viewer later left a voicemail and in response to the segment said that Li was being "very Asian" and commented that she should "keep her Korean to herself."
Li posted that video while listening to it. The video has since gone viral.
Tons of support have been flooding social media, trending under #VeryAsian. With thousands of people thanking Li for being inclusive and sharing her culture and heritage. In response, Li, took to the airwaves again to share her thoughts on the video.
"That call was ugly, it was racist," Li said. "I won't like it hurt and I cried. I posted her voicemail and went to bed feeling down. That night my husband gave me a really big long hug because he knows that 42 years in this body has absorbed 42 years of racism, discrimination, and at times, actual violence."
And she isn't alone.
The fact is since the start of the pandemic anti-Asian and Asian-American hate crimes have skyrocketed. According to Stop AAPI Hate, as of August 2021, more than 9,000 anti-Asian incidents had been reported since the beginning of the pandemic. Many Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders have and continue to report cases of physical and verbal abuse.
Li tells 2 on Your Side's Liz Lewin, " I always feel like if you're just honest and genuine about the way you're feeling, and at the very heart of it, it was pain, you know, then people tend to have more empathy."
On Wednesday, Li will be a guest on The Ellen Show, where she says she proudly shares her story and the importance of the #VeryAsian movement.
"Out of that movement, I saw so many people reach out to me who are mixed race, who are transracial adoptees like me, who are in the LGBTQ community and said, I felt seen in that, and to me, I thought that was really touching."
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