NYC rally planned for Black, Latinx & Asian Americans condemning wave of racist attacks

In response to the recent spate of attacks against Asians, a rally organized by activists from the Black, Latinx and Asian American communities is planned in New York City will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. in Washington Square Park.

 

“The current justice system is pitting Black and Asian communities against one another, just like how news sources did during the L.A. Riots,” Rohan Zhou-Lee, one of the organizers of the rally who is of Black and Asian descent, said. “We can fight Anti-Asian and Anti-Black hate at the same time.”

Since the start of the pandemic to the end of 2020, about 3,000 attacks against Asians have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a community group that began collecting hate reports against Asians. 

A recent report by the Asian American Bar Association of New York stated: 

"Anti-Asian hate incidents increased dramatically in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and then surged after the election of Donald J. Trump. South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Middle Eastern communities all faced recurring cycles of harassment and violence. Since the onset of the pandemic, however, anti-Asian hate incidents now primarily directed at East Asians have skyrocketed according to both official and unofficial reports. Across the country, there were more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents related to COVID-19 between March and September 2020. And this number understates the actual number of anti-Asian hate incidents because most incidents are not reported."

In recent weeks, violent attacks against Asian American elderly have spurred people to express their outrage beyond social media in the form of rallies to bring attention to the racist attacks against Asian Americans that have skyrocketed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the attacks included:

• In New York City, a 61-year old Filipino American, Noel Quintana, was slashed across his face as he rode the subway on his way to work. Police are asking for tips to identify the attacker.

• Earlier this week, on Tuesday, a 52-year old woman was attacked in Flushing, New York City and shoved to the pavement gashing her head that required 12 stitches. Police have arrested a 42-year old suspect who was taped on surveillance video.

• Two Asian women were attacked in the NYC subway system on Tuesday: Just before 7 a.m. at the 125th and St. Nicholas Avenue station, a 68-year-old woman was punched in the back of the head while she waited for an train. In the second assault, at 11:45 a.m., a 71-year-old woman on a southbound train was punched in the face while the train was between 5th and 7th Avenues.

• Also this week, a woman was punched while riding a trolley in San Diego. The  attacker was identified by witnesses and police arrested the suspect two days later.

• Earlier this month, a security video captured an attack on a 91-year old man who was violently shoved to the ground in Chinatown of Oakland, CA. A suspect  with a criminal record has been arrested

• Across the bay in San Francisco, an 84-year old Thai American Vicha Ratanapakdee died after being pushed to the ground banging his head on the sidewalk. His attack was arrested.

What is troubling is in that none of these incidents were provoked by the victim. They appeared to be random attacks, simply because their victims were Asian and not likely to fight back.

“All this extrajudicial violence has killed people of color indiscriminately,” Zhou-Lee, who is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, added. “We have to imagine a new world of justice rooted in compassion, not a system built on the slavery of Africans, the genocide of the Indigenous, the exploited labor of Asians, and the lynching of all the above.”

The gathering on Saturday is free and open to the public, but wearing a mask and practicing social distancing is required.