When Korean-American news anchor Michelle Li shared a voicemail where a viewer called her out for being “too Asian” and asked her to “keep her Korean to herself,” businesses around the globe felt the tremor of racism again, the pain of the marginalization and hate being brought to the forefront once more.
In Toronto, many Asian-owned businesses took the opportunity to fight the racism the caller expressed and show support for Li by embracing their culture and rich heritage, using the Li-created hashtag #VeryAsian across social media.
Sadly, the #VeryAsian movement comes as a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes plagues the city. According to Toronto police statistics, hate crimes rose 51 per cent in 2020, with Asians being the third-most targeted group.
Asian-owned businesses owners, including La La Bakeshop co-founder Brian Tran, are embracing Li’s hashtag, drawing awareness to the racism experienced by business owners across the city and beyond.
Veronica Tran, owner and founder of Pretty in the City Lash and Brow Bar, had a similar encounter with a racist phone call in her beauty business. Her services include lash lifts and tints, eyebrow and eyeliner tattoos, brow grooming, and more, and services can be booked by phone. “I received a phone call and the first thing the woman said was ‘Hello, do you speak English?’ When I replied, she said ‘Oh good, you speak perfect English,’” Tran says. “Needless to say I didn’t end up booking her. I don’t want put myself in an uncomfortable situation.”
Li’s public response spurred a flurry of responses from businesses across the city of Toronto, where many owners have been dealing with anti-Asian racism for a long time.
“It’s infuriating actually, it’s crazy that people actually feel like they have the right to do that,” says DaiLo chef Nick Liu, who posted on Instagram and pointedly made a bowl of noodles in support of Michelle Li. “This thing that the reporter had to go through, that was racism at its best, from someone who probably refuses to admit that they’re racist. It’s crazy that this is still happening.”
“My whole entire life, people have asked me ignorant questions. Growing up people always asked me what I am, and my answer is always the same, I’m Canadian,” Liu says. “One of my whole aims in life is to champion myself as a Chinese-Canadian, not just Chinese. When I opened the restaurant, there was a very big mandate to champion and educate about Chinese food and culture.”
Growing up, Liu tells Post City that he didn’t want to be Chinese, because people made him feel as though he didn’t fit in. “I always shunned my heritage growing up and even in the beginning of culinary school,” Liu says. But, as he grew as a man and as a chef, he used food to learn about both his culture and himself, but learned that he had to incorporate his heritage in a way that would still entice people to try it. “My restaurant won’t be successful unless I educate people in a soft, respectful way, putting things on my menu that people haven’t necessarily heard of by naming it something different or relating it to something French.”
Asian-owned and operated businesses are an important fabric in the composition of Toronto, and the restauranteurs, chefs, founders and entrepreneurs who bring the culture to the city are finally celebrating their worth.