Richard Lim

To problematize contemporary efforts on violence reduction for marginalized communities, this project examines how cross-racial activists’ shared commitment to curbing hate crimes without contributing to mass incarceration unintentionally did so. This research delves into how California’s anti-immigrant and “tough on crime” politics, as exemplified by the 1992 LA Uprisings, shaped Asian American and Latinx activists’ approaches to addressing hate violence and policing. Through archival sources and oral histories, this project historicizes why antiracist activists’ aspirations to link violence prevention, legal reforms, and increased political representation strengthened policing and simultaneously foreclosed possibilities for future coalition building with over-policed African American communities.