By WIll Chen and Jenna Nand | Commentary
Edmonds, WA – On March 16, multiple shootings occurred in Atlanta in which eight people were killed and others were injured. Among the dead were four Asian-American women. This terrible incident is the latest in the rising number of anti-Asian crimes in America over the past year and is a trend apparently being fueled by a feeling by some that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by China, and by extension, people of Asian ethnicity.
The Stop AAPI (Asian-American Pacific Islander) Hate National Report shows nearly 3,800 anti-Asian incidents were reported from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Anti-Asian hate crime in 16 of America’s largest cities increased 149% in 2020 according to an analysis of official preliminary police data by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. And these statistics reflect only reported incidents—many more such incidents are never reported. (Source: click here.)
We are blessed to live in a community such as Edmonds that is welcoming and kind, but members of our Asian-American and Pacific Islander community are feeling fearful about what they are seeing and hearing about the recent anti-Asian actions in our country and region. For this reason, I am calling on my fellow leaders and community members to join me in efforts to stand up to this hate.
I am currently working with a number of individuals in our community to put together a peaceful rally in the very near future in Edmonds and other parts of Snohomish County to provide an opportunity for us to come together in unity and to raise awareness about the need to support and respect one another—especially during these troubled times.
If you would like to be involved in supporting or organizing this event with me, please feel free to contact me at friendsofwill21@gmail.com. Now is not the time to stand by, we must speak up and speak out as one voice against this hate!
More details about the rally will be announced soon.
Author: Mario Lotmore
