This past year has undoubtedly been a tough one for the AAPI community — with a surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans breaking out across the country. The U.S. recorded over 3,000 anti-Asian hate incidents in 2020 alone. Since the beginning of this crisis, Lyft has partnered with organizations supporting the AAPI community with access to safe transportation—like the National Asian American Association which supports senior citizens, families, and frontline workers with essential services.
In March, we doubled down on our support with partners to keep Asian Americans safe, and in recent months we’ve expanded our Universal Vaccine Access campaign with partners like the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging. We are also partnering with 88rising and Guapdad 4000 to give rides to communities in need with the Asian Pacific Fund this month.
During a time of crisis, amidst a wave of Xenophobia — we’ve been called on to stand in solidarity with the AAPI community and all communities of color — because we know that when our differences are celebrated, our perspectives valued, and our voices heard — our company and communities are better for it.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders’ history in the U.S. goes back almost as far as the history of the country itself, and this May, we’re celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Lyft with the theme Our Heritage, Our Voice. It is a time to celebrate the many cultures and voices that make up the AAPI community. Asia-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. AAPI cultures are many, and stretch wide and far.
Audrey Liu, Lyft’s VP of Design shared her story about growing up Asian with Lyft team members today:
“This past year has reopened a lot of memories about my own upbringing as an Asian American and how I struggled to place myself within either parts of my identity fully. As a child growing up in Long Island (NY), I was never American enough. Aside from the way I looked—my lunches were different and my holidays and rituals were different—while other families were heading to church on Sunday, mine was rushing off to Chinatown. After my freshman year of high school, my family moved to Taiwan. There, I was never Chinese enough. I spoke Mandarin with an accent (and poorly), my clothes were different (grunge wasn’t really a thing in Taiwan), and I wasn’t used to any of the cultural norms. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I came back to NY for undergrad that I felt like myself. I was walking up the stairs of the Canal Street exit of the N/R train when the mixture of Asian smells hit my nose, the level of noise rose, and I heard Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. I felt right at home in that intersection of many worlds and cultures—able to finally balance my appreciation for them all and take pride and comfort in the space between that I’d been so scared of as a kid. Today, I try to instill this same appreciation in my own kids–helping them understand the unique space they come from, born of multiple cultures, not an “either/or,” but an ‘and.’”
We invite you to celebrate and uplift AAPI voices with us this AAPI heritage month. Here are a couple of ways you can support AAPI folks with Lyft this month:
Supporting local organizations to provide free and discounted rides through LyftUp. We support small, grassroots organizations — like OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, National Asian American Coalition, and National Asian Pacific Center on Aging to help close the transportation gap in AAPI communities.
Take your next Lyft to an AAPI owned small business. Asian American owned businesses have been a target of discrimination during the pandemic. Take your next Lyft ride to a local AAPI owned business.