San Francisco native Linda Ju grew up embracing her American identity, but a shift in public rhetoric over the past year has left her questioning how others perceive her. \"It’s like a switch flipped,\" Ju says. \"Suddenly, my belonging felt conditional.\"
This sentiment underscores a broader national reckoning explored in the podcast series The Race Gap, which examines how political narratives have amplified racial divisions in the U.S. Experts argue these tensions are deeply rooted in systemic inequities, from housing policies to educational access gaps that disproportionately affect communities of color.
While the U.S. has seen progress since the civil rights era, recent data shows a 22% rise in reported hate crimes targeting Asian Americans since 2020, per FBI statistics. For young Americans like Ju, this climate raises urgent questions about identity and allyship in an increasingly polarized society.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
