San Diego Asian Moms FB Group Is A Safe Space Amid Hate Crimes

SAN DIEGO, CA — A San Diego-based online moms group has become a safe space for local Asian mothers to connect amid an increase in anti-Asian attacks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asian Moms San Diego Facebook group has seen an increase in membership as hate crimes have escalated against the American Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States.

"The Facebook group has truly become a support system for many Asian moms in San Diego as we become resources for one another in finding camps, schools, restaurants and more," said founder Viva Nguyen. "We share information about how to respond to racism, especially now when there has been such a rise in violence against the greater Asian community."

Nguyen launched Asian Moms San Diego in January 2017 as a way to meet other local Asian mothers.

A Chula Vista resident, Nguyen grew up in Indonesia and moved to the San Diego area in 2007.

"I wanted to have a sense of community," said Nguyen, who has two sons, 3 and 7.

"As an Asian mother, I found it hard to find other Asian mothers that I could connect with when I moved to San Diego over 10 years ago."

Nguyen intended for the private Facebook group to be a place where Asian moms in San Diego could build a safe community and share their cultural experiences.

She knew she wanted her children to be bilingual and hoped to connect with other mothers to share ideas, including about language immersion programs. Her eldest son is now learning Mandarin and Spanish at a trilingual school.

"The group is a go-to place for me and many other moms to ask questions and seek advice about many different things," said Nguyen, who works in marketing and photography.

In recent months, however, the group has grown to more than 600 members and become a place of support in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

Reported hate crimes against Asians in 16 of the country's largest cities and counties increased 164 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020, according to a new report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Members of Asian Moms San Diego share news articles about hate crimes and other racist incidents that have happened locally and across the country. They also share resources and their first-hand experiences with racism.

One member posted how her child faced racist taunts at preschool, Nguyen said.

"It's a safe place for all of us to share our experiences about racism and how we handle it," she said.

As a person of Chinese heritage, Nguyen said she experienced racism growing up in Indonesia. She was called names, and her accent was mocked.

"It's a sensitive subject for me because I do have a lot of experience with racism," Nguyen said. "Growing up in Indonesia, I was a minority. Over here, I'm still a minority. It's something I don't want my kids to experience. It's something that's hard to forget."

As COVID-19 restrictions eased in the county, one member of Asian Moms San Diego began offering self-defense workshops to members of the Facebook group.

Raquel Cusi is the co-founder of Stronghold, a San Diego-based family-owned and operated martial arts school. The company, which opened in 2007, offers jiujitsu, fitness and self-defense classes and workshops.

After hearing from friends about their growing interest in self-defense classes, Cusi posted in the group in mid-March to inform members about the workshops. She offered to tailor the workshops so that mothers and their children 3 and older could participate.

She heard from about 15 members that first day.

"I'm happy that we're open, but I'm sad that's what we're responding to right now," said Cusi, who has five children, 12, 10, 8, 5 and 4 months old.

Cusi started learning jiujitsu in 2005 when she was a senior at California State University, San Marcos, after two different rapes were reported in the same week at the campus and at San Diego State University.

"It was mainly for self-defense, but I stayed with it for the sport, and then I opened up an academy with my kids' dad two years later," Cusi said.

Cusi specializes in classes for children and women. In response to the demand, she offered self-defense workshops indoors and outdoors at her facility and even for small pods at private homes.

"This affects everyone as a whole," Cusi said.

"It's not just one community. It's everybody. There's so many Asians in San Diego. What time's better than now to step up together?"