An Asian student society responds to racism with a riveting photo series

Last October the editor in chief of the New York Times, Michael Luo, wrote an open letter after a

woman told him to “go back to China”. He started the hashtag #thisis2016 on social media, inciting Americans of Asian descent across the US to respond by sharing their own experiences of everyday racism.

The Asian student society at the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine decided to respond with a striking photo series. The students posed one by one, facing the camera, carrying a sign describing the kind of racist phrases they hear on a daily basis. Racism is an everyday occurrence in our country, with clichés and stereotypes being thrown about with little consideration.

This photo series is the occasion to take a look at these backwards societal interactions, and to remind ourselves that even in 2016, the way view each other still needs to evolve.

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