Celebrities, activists team up for campaign fighting anti-Asian hate hosted by Ken Jeong

Ilene Aiko, left, and Filipino American rapper Saweetie will perform for "See Us Unite."

A multi-platform cultural campaign designed to accelerate impact and expand support for the AAPI community. See Us Unite, is the being launched by the newly formed The Asian American Foundation. 

This campaign will launch May 21 nationwide on social and outdoor media featuring leading Asian American public figures, such as Daniel Dae Kim, Naomi Osaka, Lisa Ling, Jeremy Lin, Fareed Zakaria, Michelle Kwan and many others.

Through music and comedy performances, short film packages and speakers, “See Us Unite for Change” aims to inspire and educate viewers about the AAPI community’s impact on the United States and how to support on-the-ground efforts building solidarity against hate," said Sheila Lirio Marcelo, executive producer of the See Us Unite campaign, TAFF board member and founder of Care.com. 

"Over the past year, we've witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of discrimination, violence and hate towards the AAPI community,"  said Marcelo

"But anti-Asian hate has had a long history in this country, and to truly shift perceptions on a larger scale, we must come together to take a stand against discrimination, slander and violence in all of its forms, utilizing every platform and tool that we have access to. Ultimately, our culture is our greatest asset in our effort to change hearts and minds."

Hosted by Ken Jeong, the event will feature performances by artists including Jhene Aiko, Saweetie, Sting and more as well as appearances by Daniel Dae Kim and Lisa Ling, among many others. 

The event will also explore the history and contributions of Asian Americans and will feature testimonials from leading Asian American public figures, as well as individuals working to enact change on the ground, including Amanda Ngoc Nguyen, Ai-Jen Poo, Prof. Karthick Ramakrishnan and John C. Yang. 

Funds raised from the campaign will be directed towards education and awareness-raising efforts, as well as initiatives that build understanding and solidarity among diverse communities. 

Powerful grassroots-led efforts have emerged in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination. To accelerate impact on the ground, the See Us Unite campaign is partnering with the Asian Pacific Fund to drive funding towards organizations including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Stop AAPI Hate, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), The Asian American Education Project (AAEdu), Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), and other AAPI organizations. 

The Asian American Foundation and a coalition of partners including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, are behind the effort.

As part of the campaign MTV Entertainment will broadcast "See Us Unite for Change - The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) in service of the AAPI Community" at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT across its portfolio of brands (MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, Pop TV, VH1, CMT, TV Land and Logo) as well as BET and Nickelodeon, and stream exclusively on Facebook Watch.

"The rise in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is the latest in America's long legacy of racial injustice. Racism is pervasive and it thrives on ignorance. To end it, we have to first acknowledge it," said Ford Foundation President Darren Walker. "See Us Unite confronts that history and puts a spotlight on experiences that need to be seen and heard, because visibility matters."