Nguyen hosts NBC special about anti-Asian violence

NBC journalist worked at KNTV for 12 years

It’s an alarming side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: Asian Americans increasingly have become targets of hate and discrimination.

In response to this unsettling trend, NBC News journalist Vicky Nguyen is hosting a streaming special that will feature indepth conversations on the issue. “The Racism Virus” will debut at 5 p.m. today on NBC News NOW.

Nguyen was a reporter for 12 years at KNTV in San Jose before moving to NBC’s New York headquarters in 2019. And it’s perhaps fitting that she’s relying heavily on her Bay Area roots for the special.

Among Nguyen’s interview subjects are San Francisco-born comedianactress Margaret Cho, former “Survivor” champion and current Los Altos resident Yul Kwon, pro basketball player and Palo Alto native Jeremy Lin (now playing for the Warriors’ G-League team in Santa Cruz), Dr. Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, and Jess Owyoung, founding member of Compassion in Oakland.

Also among the interviewees are actor and UC Berkeley grad actor Brian Tee; U.S. Rep Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park; Benny Luo, CEO of NextShark, the Asian American news site; actress Olivia Munn; Amanda Nguyen, CEO and founder of Rise; Eric Toda, global head of social marketing at Facebook; Dr. Jenny Wang, clinical psychologist and founder of the Asians for Mental Health community; and Kimmy Yam, reporter for NBC Asian America.

Lin, who is attempting an NBA comeback with the Warriors organization, recently gained attention when he revealed on social media that an opposing player derisively called him “coronavirus” during a game. In a subsequent interview, Lin told reporters, “Basically there’s a lot of Asian American violence, there’s hate crimes, people getting stabbed with butcher knives and other stuff. … One in four, one in four Asian Americans has experienced some type of anti-hate since the pandemic started. One in four — that’s a lot.”

According to Stop AAPI Hate, between March and December 2020, more than 2,800 hate incidents aimed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been reported. “The Racism Virus” intends to cover “how the community is coping, the psychological and economic toll this discrimination brings and what can be done to bring a sense of belonging and unity again.”

“When you see discrimination start to manifest itself into physical violence at alarming rates, it is all of our responsibilities to speak out,” Nguyen said in an interview with People magazine last year.

“We should be banding together to discuss these issues to help amplify more voices. I also hope that when people hear about these stories, they will speak up and be allies.”

NBC News NOW is available on Peacock, YouTube, YouTube TV, The Roku Channel, Fubo, Xumo, Pluto, Tubi and NBC News apps on Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV.