American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism

This probing account shines a new light on the problem of anti-Asian violence and inspires us to build lasting solidarity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, racist demagoguery fomented a campaign of terror against Asian Americans. But these attacks were part of a much longer pattern that made anti-Asian racism integral to the outbreak of white supremacist, misogynist, and colonial violence across 175 years of U.S. history. Written in the radical spirit of Howard Zinn, American Peril represents the culmination of thirty-five years of study and activism by award-winning scholar Scott Kurashige.

From the lynching of Asian immigrants during the exclusion era to the ongoing slaughter of Asian civilians by the U.S. military, the book connects domestic and global events that have been erased from the official record. Going beyond victimhood, Kurashige traces the rise of Asian American community protest and activism in response to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and other overlooked tragedies. While many have worked to legislate and prosecute hate crimes, Kurashige argues that hope lies in grassroots activism for multiracial solidarity.

Author: Scott Kurashige
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780520424777

About the Author
Scott Kurashige is author of The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles and coauthor, with Grace Lee Boggs, of The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.