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VIDEO: Amid the rise in anti-Asian hate, these pairs feel safer walking together

In response to an increase in violent attacks targeting people of Asian descent, some people across the U.S. have started regularly walking with loved ones out of concern for their safety.

In Pasadena, Calif., 87-year-old Janet Setsuda recalls her childhood spent in a Japanese internment camp during a morning stroll with Kevin Holmes, a local volunteer chaperone who has developed a close friendship with Setsuda as a result of their many walks together. Less than 50 miles away, in Chino, Calif., college student Sophie Moline, fearing that her mother, Charisse, could be a target, accompanies her on a walk through their local park. And in New York City, community organizer Michelle Tran joins her mentee, high school freshman Tiffany Yuen, on her evening walk home — something they began doing more regularly after Tiffany was verbally harassed in Chinatown last year.

This film follows the three pairs on their walks as they discuss the fears that have emerged (and in some cases, re-emerged) over the course of the pandemic, as well as the unexpected joys that this new practice of walking together has brought to their lives.

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Mito Habe-Evans (she/her) co-manages NPR's Video team and is responsible for the creative direction and sensibility of NPR videos. She leads the team in its pursuit of projects that are "smart with heart," from the comedic economics explainer series Planet Money Shorts to the short film Senior Spring, a national portrait of teens and guns. She developed NPR's signature documentary style with What Democracy Looks Like and One Nation Under The Sun.