Activism during the COVID-19 pandemic: Racial reckoning for Asian and Asian American college students.

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified discrimination and racist attacks targeting Asian Americans. This challenging context has also created opportunities for individuals to engage in activism and collective action. Despite the significance of this issue, little research has explored how anti-Asian racism throughout COVID-19 has contributed to Asian and Asian American college students' engagement in activism.

METHOD: Focus group interviews were conducted to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the experiences and perceptions of activism among 34 Asian and Asian American college students (eight international and 26 domestic; Mage = 22.47, SD = 5.31).

RESULTS

Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified five interconnected themes that characterized participants' experiences: definition of activism, barriers to activism, reasons for activism engagement, forms of activism and advocacy, and activism's impact on relationships.

CONCLUSIONS

Implications and future directions to promote collective agency for lasting societal change are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).