Together let's empower our AAPI community to stand up against anti-Asian violence and racism.

Since March 2022, OCA-NY and Soar Over Hate have held several no-cost self-defense classes in New York City in response to the shockwaves felt throughout our community from the murders of Michelle Go and Christina Yuna Lee. Our self-defense classes have empowered over 400 participants of all ages--they are your aunties, your siblings, your grandmas, your neighbors--seeking ways to protect themselves and feel seen and safe.

What do our self-defense classes look like?

• Our monthly workshops cover situational awareness, foundational footwork, defensive and offensive techniques and basic striking. Attendees gain the foundational tools to own their power and also empower each other in a safe and supportive space.
• Our workshops act as necessary moments for community building. Friendships and lasting connections are made, and support networks are woven stronger. People who may not have felt seen and heard previously, find solidarity in others.
• We support AAPI restaurants, cafes, and local gyms. We help re-charge our attendees with free food and refreshments from local AAPI-owned businesses. Folks get to bond over our AAPI love language– food!

What will your donation go toward?

• Instructors
• Venues
• Refreshments
• Supplies
• Transportation
• Gear (pads, mitts, etc.)
• Design and production of a self-defense resource booklet
• Production of self-defense video content for social media use

Let's be real: the cost of planning and hosting a self-defense class is approximately $1,000. The funds we raise for each class are going directly back to the community through our instructors, our venues, and our small businesses.

Don't just take our word for it:

As one participant shared-

“Communal care is the medicine we reach for, to combat the poison of hatred... [Soar Over Hate and OCA-NY’s] self-defense class wastes no time in equipping and engaging participants with pragmatic safety tools and a better understanding of how to interact with the world considering our collective safety."

Our classes have also been featured in the New Yorker, NY1, and other news outlets, and our instructor, Jessica Ng has been profiled by NPR.

Thank you so much for your support!

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national non-profit civil rights organization founded in 1973 to promote and protect the political, economic, and cultural rights of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. With dozens of chapters across the country, OCA-NY is one of the oldest, founded in 1976. The NYC-wide chapter, OCA-NY, has led the Hate Crimes Prevention Art Project for almost two decades, regularly promotes civic engagement through the coalition APA VOICE, and has hosted community events throughout the city, amongst decades of community-building and work.

Soar Over Hate is a grassroots non-profit, founded in March of 2021 to uplift and protect the AAPI community in light of escalating anti-Asian violence and racism. Soar Over Hate empowers AAPI through self-defense tools and classes, scholarships for AAPI high-schoolers, mental health resources for victims of anti-Asian violence, and builds community through uplifting health fair events.

Follow OCA-NY:

linktr.ee/ocany

Follow Soar Over Hate:

linktr.ee/soaroverhate

Cover photo by Cindy Trinh