California Host Rally of Support for Asian American Communities

Over this weekend, residents of the San Gabriel Valley, California, held protests and vigils in memory of six Asian American women who were killed in cold blood by a young white gunman in Atlanta (Georgia) on March 16.

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San Gabriel Valley, renowned for its large Asian American community, is home to over half of Los Angeles County's Chinese American population. The area also has large numbers of Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino American residents.

"The COVID-19 virus is dangerous. But the anti-Asian hate is a more dangerous virus," said Li, an old Chinese American resident, who came to the rally with his children and grandchildren despite the danger of virus infection.

Candles and flickering penlights lit up the darkness as community leaders, local officials, concerned citizens, and neighbors gathered to pay their respects and protest the escalation of anti-Asian violence and hate crimes that has largely gone unchecked since the pandemic began.

"We used our heart to help distribute lots of personal protective equipment to local people during the pandemic, now we must use our voice to stop the anti-Asian hate," said Tony Ding, vice mayor of the City of San Gabriel. 

"Since the pandemic, there has been a sharp rise in hate crimes against Asians. That is not acceptable," he added, encouraging Asian American residents to break their silence and stand up against racial hate and prejudice.

From March 2020 to Feb. 2021, Asian Americans in the United States reported nearly 3,800 hate-related incidents during the pandemic, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate. A total of 1,691 of those reports were from California.