San Gabriel Valley report: New year, same old hate

SCREEN CAPTURE

AAPI in California's San Gabriel Valley rally against hate.

It may be 2022, but the hate acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders continue like it was still 2020 or 2021 during which almost a third of AAPI have suffered from the racist attacks according to a new survey of California's San Gabriel Valley.

The Stop Hate Community Survey of Asian and Asian Americans found that nearly 31% of Asian American respondents said they or their family experienced a hate incident based on their race or ethnicity since the COVID-19 outbreak, with most of these incidents involving insults or verbal abuse.

The report surveyed AAPI residents of Los Angeles' eastern suburbs in the San Gabriel Valley, where a large concentration of Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipinos and South Asians reside. 

Most of the hate acts have been insults or verbal abuse. At a press conference Wednesday, Hanna Chang described one incident as she was recharging her car in front of a police station, an individual, apparently impatient at her progress shouted, "F---king chink!"

Racist abuse “can happen anywhere, and this was in the middle of the day, in front of a lot of people,” she said.

Conducted by the Asian Youth Center (AYC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice – LA), the report also found:

• 37% of respondents said they noticed an increase in racial discrimination or harassment in their community since the COVID-19 outbreak began in 2020, and

• 59% said they have changed the way they feel and behave when they leave home.

• 49% of parent respondents indicated they have concerns about their children returning to school related anti-Asian hate and bullying.

The Chinese Cultural Center is in Hacienda Heights in the San Gabriel Valley.

Survey respondents described getting verbally assaulted while shopping, observing hate speech and graffiti on Asian owned businesses, feeling anxiety about their safety when leaving home, and being concerned about physical attacks for the first time as an Asian American. The majority of respondents did not feel there is support in their community for victims of racial discrimination or harassment.

When asked to select resources that would be most effective in preventing discrimination, most respondents selected community patrol/neighborhood watch programs, followed by stronger community-police relations and cross-cultural events, such as community gatherings and celebrations.

About 3 out of 4 parent respondents felt that more training for teachers and staff and clearer protocols on how schools address violence and bullying would help them and their children feel safer returning to school.

Many respondents also felt their communities in general needed more mental health/substance abuse services, childcare/youth activities, and senior services. The full survey report is available at: www.aycla.org/survey.

The survey corresponds with other reports throughout the country citing the alarming rise in anti-Asian acts. Los Angeles County found that anti-Asian crime has risen 73% in 2021. New York City reports a rise of hate crimes against AAPI by 361%.

“AYC proposes to address these findings in several ways,” said Michelle Freridge, AYC Executive Director, “First, we will continue addressing Anti-Asian Hate incidents in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County through in-language community education, engagement, and mobilization activities to empower residents to prevent, address, and recover from anti-Asian hate incidents.”

In addition, AYC is implementing:

• Youth-led social justice projects with high school students in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley through the Youth & Parent Leadership Development Program and Dream Allies Network;

• After-school programming in Alhambra Unified School District and the San Gabriel Unified School District for K-8 students has incorporated classes from the Asian American Education Project curriculum and anti-bullying lessons; and

• In partnership with LA vs. Hate, AYC will continue to create and support local initiatives working to stop hate in our communities, such as LA vs Hate’s Stronger Together mural project by local artist MariNaomi. Through community events, public art, and social media outreach, we will continue working with other local partners to engage the community and amplify the message that any kind of hate is unacceptable.

“San Gabriel Valley is one of the most important Asian communities in California and we are here for individuals who don’t know where to turn for confidential, safe support," said Connie Chung Joe, CEO, Advancing Justice – LA. "We can help in their languages. We will continue to fight for public programs and services that serve the diverse and complex needs of AAPIs in this community.”

Shopping malls in the San Gabriel Valley reflect their clientele.

Based on the survey results, AYC and Advancing Justice – LA will work to engage policymakers and advocate for the resources requested by the community. The organizations also plan to expand their existing efforts to address anti-Asian hate and discrimination.

Advancing Justice – LA prioritizes programs that address anti-Asian discrimination and hate in the following ways:

• Reaching the most vulnerable immigrant communities through it's Asian Language Help lines and targeted community outreach. AAAJ-LA provides free victims and legal assistance in Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, and English.

• Public communications and awareness campaigns which include opeds and national/local PSAs through ethnic and mainstream media partners, allied organizations, and social media outlets. This includes advertising in multiple Asian languages to raise awareness and counter-messaging against harmful rhetoric.

• Amplifying AAPI voices by speaking out on behalf of the community in public forums, discussions, and briefings with national, state, county, and city officials, legislators, nonprofit leaders and corporations.

• Bystander Intervention Trainings: Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles has partnered with AYC and a coalition of community-based organizations to deliver Bystander Intervention Trainings for residents throughout Southern California. Currently, trainings are offered for adults in English and can be accessed here. AYC just completed translating the curriculum into Chinese, so trainings will be available in Chinese soon. 

Those who have been victims of hate should consider reporting with LA County by calling 211 or using LA County’s LA vs. Hate online form. Hate incidents can also be reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition aimed at addressing anti-Asian American discrimination.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views, raves and rants from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

California AAPI communities could come out as winners in redistricting

For better political presentation, district maps must be redrawn every 10 years.

ANALYSIS

In large part, the California's Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities won most of their arguments to keep AAPI communities intact in the new district maps for political representation at all levels -- from school boards to Congress.

On December 20, 2021, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted to approve maps for new Congressional, state Senate, and state Assembly districts, shaping who gets to vote together for elected representatives that will fight for their needs, interests, and aspirations. 

Nearly one-third of the state’s 52 new congressional districts would have a majority of Latino citizens of voting age under the new maps, according ot he L.A. Times. That’s an increase of three districts even as California lost a seat for the first time in its history because of a suspected undercount by the U.S. Census.

“As a result of community engagement, California has two majority Asian American districts ... as well as 16 Asian American influence districts, where Asian Americans make up 30% or more of eligible voters," said an analysis by a collaborative of Asian and Middle Eastern advocates. 

One of the big wins for the AANHPI community in the San Gabriel Valley west of Los Angeles. The heavily Asian-American cities of Alhambra, Monterey Park and Rosemead, which were initially placed with a larger Latino district have been joined with the Asian-majority cities of Arcadia, San Gabriel, San Marino and Temple City.

Redistricting maps are not final until the commission takes a final vote on Dec. 27. But Asian American leaders expressed optimism that the west San Gabriel Valley district would stay intact. Legal challenges are expected.

After record-breaking participation in the Census, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) residents throughout the state mobilized to have their preferences heard by the nonpartisan  commission fighting to keep their ethnic communities and neighborhoods intact, which should benefit Rep. Judy Chu who represents the 27th Congressional District.

AANHPI communities could retain their influence in the San Gabriel Valley.

If those cities stay together, that should  also open the possibility for an AAPI candidate for the state's Assembly.

Over the past year, dozens of community and civil rights organizations have worked together in the AAPI & AMEMSA State Redistricting Collaborative to capture their communities’ diversity and interests and develop responsive and equitable district maps. Community members and voting rights advocates participated in over 30 online workshops and coordinated with other statewide organizations, including the Black Census and Redistricting Hub, MALDEF, and the IVE Alliance, led by the Advancement Project, to develop map proposals that empower communities of color as well as communities enduring the impacts of economic and environmental injustices.

The Collaborative issued the following analysis after the final map was revealed:

“AAPI and AMEMSA communities represent nearly 20% of California’s population, the fastest growing among all racial and ethnic groups in the state. Through local and statewide organizing, community members affirmed the bedrock importance of an independent redistricting commission: residents have a platform to share what unites their neighbors and communities and learn from each other to identify district lines that empower those most often disenfranchised and underrepresented by partisan mapping.

“As a result of community engagement, California has two majority Asian American districts and 49 majority Latino districts, as well as 16 Asian American influence districts, where Asian Americans make up 30% or more of eligible voters. As the Commission explored big changes to California’s districts, our communities spoke up to make sure they and their neighborhoods were not divided and that they were in districts with communities who have shared interests and priorities.

“Now that the lines have been set, we and our community partners will continue to work for fair and accessible elections and to increase engagement from California’s diverse and growing AAPI and AMEMSA electorate.”

"As the Commission finalizes its maps, the AAPI & AMEMSA State Redistricting Collaborative continues to talk with community members about what new district lines mean for their civic power and advocacy. While these discussions continue, Collaborative members have identified several highlights as a result of communities’ engagement in redistricting as well as some areas of concern where the Commission maps split or divided communities.

"Sacramento Valley: Supported by AAPI FORCE and Hmong Innovating Politics, among others, communities of interest in Elk Grove and Vineyard were kept whole and with Sacramento County-based districts at all levels of government. With the support of CAIR-CA, Afghan and Syrian refugee communities in Arden-Arcade and Carmichael were also kept whole at all levels of government, a testament to the importance of listening to community testimony that details where they live as opposed to relying on official neighborhood or city lines.

Daly City's Filipino community mainly stayed intact.

"Bay Area: AAPI communities of interest in San Francisco, including Chinatown, Japantown, Richmond, Sunset, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, Portola, and Bayview, were kept whole at all levels of government. 

"Daly City was also kept whole and with nearby Filipino American communities. Pacific Islander communities in south San Mateo County were kept together at all levels of government for the first time. 

"With the support of Asian Law Alliance, Collaborative members advocated for a near-majority Asian American Congressional district made up of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Berryessa, Milpitas, and south Fremont. 

"At all levels of government, Centerville, home to a large Afghan community, was kept whole. In San Jose, the Collaborative worked to reduce splits to Little Saigon when a new Latino Voting Rights Act district led to changes to the San Jose Congressional map. 

"AAPI communities and other working class communities in Union City and Hayward were kept together at all levels of government, and with San Leandro at the Assembly level. In Oakland, Korean and Yemeni communities of interest and Asian refugee communities of interest were kept whole at all levels of government.

"In the Senate map, community members remain concerned that the Commission has drawn San Leandro into a Contra Costa County-based district and out of an Alameda County-based district. San Leandro is diverse, with many lower-income residents, and should be with other cities along the 880 corridor.

"Central Valley: Hmong Innovating Politics and Hmong residents in Fresno successfully advocated for their communities to be largely kept whole and together within a Latino Voting Rights Act district, as the community wished. Throughout the redistricting process, Hmong community members noted that being together within that district would empower them due to shared interests and characteristics with their Latino neighbors.

Los Angeles'' Koreatown residents fought for their neighborhood to stay together.

"Los Angeles: Community members mobilized in large numbers to advocate for the Asian American community of interest in west San Gabriel Valley. At the Congressional level, the Commission listened to community voices and united west San Gabriel Valley. At the Assembly level, the Commission determined the Voting Rights Act applies to this area and drew a majority Asian district. In metro Los Angeles, Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town are whole at all levels of government, reflecting residents’ definition of their neighborhoods. The Asian American community that spans the southern portion of Gardena and the northeastern portion of Torrance are also together at all levels of government.

"Still, while Carson residents, including the Filipino American community, repeatedly called for Carson to be kept whole at all levels of government and the Collaborative offered proposals to balance a wide range of interests, the Commission split Carson and these communities at the Assembly level.

"Orange County: Supported by OCCET’s leadership, community members in Orange County were able to advocate for improvements to their district maps. Cerritos and Artesia were drawn with south Buena Park, La Palma, and Cypress in Orange County-based districts, keeping AMEMSA communities together. 

"The community of Little Saigon in Garden Grove, Westminster, and Fountain Valley is together, and in the assembly and congressional maps, drawn with other inland immigrant communities. 

"The Korean American community in north Buena Park and northwest Fullerton is also kept together at all levels of government, as are the Pacific Islander communities in Garden Grove and immigrant communities in Irvine and Costa Mesa.

"San Diego: City Heights, which is an essential home for immigrants and refugees resettling in the San Diego area, was previously split into multiple districts at all levels of government. The new lines unite the neighborhood into single districts for Assembly and Senate, and bring more of the growing community into the Congressional district with the historic core of the neighborhood. The new Assembly lines also unite Linda Vista with other neighborhoods that form the major Asian community of interest in San Diego, including Claremont, the Convoy district, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa."

The AAPI & AMEMSA State Redistricting Collaborative includes Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund, Asian Law Alliance, Asian Solidarity Collective, AAPI Equity Alliance (formerly the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council), CAIR California, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, Hmong Innovating Politics, Jakara Movement, and Orange County Civic Engagement Table (OCCET).

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd

Meet the Asian American Rose Parade princesses

TOURNAMENT OF ROSES

The Tournament of Roses royal court is a picture of inclusion.

LOUISE DESER SISKEL is the first Rose queen with glasses, the first Jewish queen and first LGBTQ queen. 

It's 2019 and California continues to change as immigrants continue to make the state their home as exemplified by the barrier-breaking royal court of the Tournament and Parade of Roses held in Pasadena.

The 2019 Rose queen and her court that will reign over the New Year's Day Rose Parade and traditional Rose Bowl football game, reflect the demographic changes occurring in California, often the harbinger of things to come for the rest of the nation.

Among the six princesses in her court are two high school seniors, Rucha S. Kadam and Sherry Xiaorui Ma, representing the Asian American communities in the San Gabriel Valley where Pasadena is located. The valley's AAPI population about a half-million - more than 42 states - is perhaps the largest concentration of Asian Americans in the country according to a report issued earlier this year from the nonprofit legal advocates, Asian Americans Advancing Justice. 

Rucha, from La Canada High School, told the Pasadena Star-News about her favorite family tradition:

"Both of my parents are from India. While we celebrate all of the traditional American holidays, we also celebrate some Indian holidays. One of my favorites is Diwali, which is the Festival of Lights. We light candles all around the house, and make lots of food and eat a lot. And we do Rangoli, which is colored powder that we make shapes and art from. It’s a very fun time of year."

Sherry, who attends San Marino High School, said her favorite family tradition was the making of New Year dumplings:

"I have an Asian background, so my family would celebrate Chinese New Year. We would spend the entire day making homemade dumplings. Our tradition was we would hide one clean penny in one of the dumplings and a candy in another one. When we ate that night, whoever ate the dumpling with the penny in it has luck in business and wealth, and whoever ate the one with the candy in it would have good luck. My mom has gotten the dumpling with the candy in it every single year. One year I told her she’s not allowed to eat any dumplings until (after dinner). … I ate plates and plates of dumplings and I didn’t get it. It wasn’t until all the guests went home and she finally sat down and had dumplings, the first one she ate had the candy in it, which felt crazy. It just showed me how blessed we are, whether it was real or not (that she would have luck)."
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Report: San Gabriel Valley belies model minority myth

IN 2010 the upsurge of AAPIs -- mainly through immigration -- has been hard to ignore, especially in California, home to the largest number of AAPIs.

Buddhist temples, Muslim mosques, Sikh Gurdwaras with their distinictive architectural styles, entire shopping centers catering to Asian customers, street signs and marquees in Asian languages and in students from South Asia, East Asia and Souteast Asia fill the classrooms.

The San Gabriel Valley, a sprawling network of cities east of Los Angeles is an example of the transformation of American suburbia.

Nearly 525,000 Asian/Americans live in the SGV, and about 67 percent of them are first generation immigrants, according to the report released Wednesday (Feb. 21) by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a civil rights organization, using mostly census data.

The report reveals the social, cultural and economic complexity of the AAPI community. It belies the so-called model minority image of the AAPI community that  grapples with poverty, health concerns and its large undocumented population.

"If policymakers think all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are successful, they are less inclined to support programs and services that address the very real needs that exist in our communities," says Daniel Ichinose, director of AAAJ-LA's Demographic Research Project and an author of the report.
According the report from Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA), there are over half a million Asian Americans living in Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Valley (SGV), more than there are in 42 states or in the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Chicago. 

Using the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and numerous government and academic sources, A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the San Gabriel Valley sheds light on a part of the community often hiding in plain sight. 

“The Asian/American population in the San Gabriel Valley is a community deeply impacted by poverty and low-wage work, affordable housing concerns, and environmental challenges,” said Jeffer Giang, Research Analyst at Advancing Justice-LA and the report’s primary author. “With over two-thirds born outside the U.S., it is a rapidly growing community directly impacted by the current debate on immigration.”

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of majority Asian/American cities in the San Gabriel Valley doubled from 6 to 12. While Chinese Americans make up over half of its Asian/American population, the region is also home to large Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean American populations. The report also estimates there are approximately 58,000 undocumented Asian/Americans living in the San Gabriel Valley. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, thousands of Asian/Americans and NHPI in the San Gabriel Valley are low-income or live in poverty, many working in service industry jobs whose pay is the lowest in the region. 

2015 American Community Survey (ACS) data show that over 66,700 Asian Americans and nearly 1,000 NHPI in the region live below the poverty line; nearly a third of Asian Americans overall are low-income. While over 45% of Asian Americans and 37% of NHPI work in management, business, science, and the arts, a majority work in other occupations. 

Approximately 16% of Asian/Americans and 18% of NHPI are employed in service-related occupations, working in restaurants, nail salons, or as caregivers. Across the four-county subdivisions that make up the San Gabriel Valley, median earnings for all service industry workers fell between $17,476 and $18,576 and were lowest among major occupational categories.

“This groundbreaking report highlights the poverty status of Asian Americans and income disparities facing low wage service workers in the San Gabriel Valley,” said Lisa Fu, Program and Outreach Director for the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. “It is an important tool for community organizations to use to deepen our outreach, organizing and advocacy strategy in the region.”

Data included in the report also show both rising housing costs and thousands of Asian/Americans who spend more than they can afford on rent and mortgages. Between 2015 and 2016, the average rent in the San Gabriel Valley increased 4.9%. In 2016, the median home price rose to $662,400, compared to $559,000 countywide. According to 2015 ACS data, nearly 69,000 Asian Americans in the region are burdened by the high cost of housing, spending 30% or more of their household income on housing costs. Over 52% of Asian/American renters and 49% of Asian American homeowners with a mortgage spend 30% or more of their household income on housing.

“Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the San Gabriel Valley are facing tremendous pressure from surging housing prices,” said Annie Fox, Regional Lead Organizer at LA Voice. “The movement of affordable housing policies in the coming years will be defining for the community.” 

The Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple is a monastery in Hacienda Heights, is one of the largest
Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere.

Data from the California Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment show that the San Gabriel Valley is home to some of the most polluted parts of California. According to the state’s CalEnviroScreen 3.0 data, over 25% of the San Gabriel Valley is severely polluted, with one in four census tracts in the region at or above the 90th percentile for pollution burden statewide. 

Approximately 70% of census tracts in El Monte, 46% of census tracts in Rosemead, and 40% of census tracts in San Gabriel are severely polluted. Particular pollution challenges facing the region include the release of toxic chemicals from industrial facilities south of the 10 Freeway; drinking-water contamination in Alhambra, Arcadia, Irwindale, Monterey Park, Temple City, and West Covina; and exhaust from vehicle traffic along the 10, 60, 210, and 605 Freeway corridors.

“This report is important because it sheds light on what many of us already know in the San Gabriel Valley,” said Scott Chan, Program Director of Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement. “Our communities are built in and among major environmental hazards that drastically impact the health of our communities.”

Asian American cops file discrimination suit

Asian/Americans make up a majority of the population of San Gabriel, California.

ASAM NEWS

A GROUP of veteran police officers in San Gabriel near Los Angeles is suing the department for discrimination, according to KTLA.

Allen Sam, Wei “Gilbert” Lee, Sunny Kim, Vy Van and Nhat Huynh accuse fellow officers and police personnel of using racial slurs and carrying out acts of racial harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

All three officers are at least ten year veterans of the force. They say fellow officers mocked the English of Asians, made disparaging remarks about their physical traits as well as their food.

“Because SGPD management engages in this harassing and demeaning behavior, SGPD officers learn, from the time they start as new trainee officers, that degrading people of Asian descent, including plaintiffs and city residents, is a practice condoned, if not encouraged, by SGPD,” attorneys said in their lawsuit, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Attorney Bernard Alexander III, called the incident ironic, given that the San Gabriel Valley is a majority Asian American community. According to the U.S. Census, Asian Americans make up more than 60 percent of the population in the city of 41,000.

Jonathan Fu, a spokesperson for San Gabriel, declined to comment.
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