‘We’re here for those who are afraid’: Sacramento rallies against Asian hate and violence
Decked out in colorful balloons, handwritten signs reading “Stop AAPI Hate” and even a few lion dance heads, more than 100 people drove from across the capital region Saturday morning to gather on Florin Road in Sacramento and speak out against anti-Asian racism.
The caravan, organized by Asian Resources Inc. and supported by a wide range of local community organizations like Philippine National Day Association, the To’utupu’o e ‘Otu Felenite Association and Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs, drove in three long parades of cars from ARI headquarters on Elder Creek Road, the Sacramento Chinese IndoChina Friendship Association and Happy Garden on Stockton Boulevard before converging at the Florin Mall in the parking lot of the former Sears.
Cars were covered in handmade posters, signs and slogans written in grease marker like “I am an American” and “Asians aren’t a virus. Racism is.”
Under a cloudless blue sky, attendees honked horns and waved handmade posters and signs while listening to community advocates give speeches reaffirming the community’s solidarity and commitment to ending anti-Asian hate. Sacramento leaders like Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy and Sacramento City Council members Eric Guerra and Mai Vang spoke out against the rise in violence from a makeshift stage on the back of a pickup truck.
“This country has a long and painful racist history towards Asian Americans in this country,” said Vang, who represents Meadowview, the Parkway and Valley Hi/North Laguna. “Anti-Asian hate is something that has been happening in our communities for years. And we were not listened to before. .... We are organized here, and it is not just today. It is today, it is tomorrow.”
“We need to empower our youth. ... We need to spend time and effort to talk to them and educate them and show them leadership,” an APAPA advocate said during the rally. “We are making impacts and people need to know that.”
The rally is the latest in a string of local efforts to speak out and take action against anti-Asian racism after the Sacramento community was left shaken by the shootings in Atlanta last week that left eight dead, six of whom were of Asian descent. Nearly one in four Sacramento County residents identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
Allen Duong, an acupuncturist from Elk Grove, pulled up to the rally with lawn chairs and boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts with his family of six. A massive dragon dance head stretched out over the roof of his car, covered in signs reading “Stop the Hate!”
None of his family members were particularly politically inclined in the past, he said, but after the shootings in Atlanta and the steady yearlong rise of violence against Asian Americans, he and his family felt it was time for them to express their anger and frustration and show up for their community. Before this year, they had never taken part in a political rally, they said; this month, they’ve joined three.
“We were a little nervous (at our first rally). We’re not activists, we’re not politicians ... but being a little nervous beats going to a funeral,” Duong said. “We’re here for those who are afraid, our elders.”
“My parents are nervous about walking around outside,” Duong continued. “I told them to be careful, but then I thought, ‘We’re American.’ ... We can’t be silent anymore.”
Stephanie Nguyen, executive director of Asian Resources, said she wasn’t expecting such a massive turnout for the rally. It’s a testament to the community’s commitment to supporting the AAPI community.
“That right there brings tears of joy to my eyes,” Nguyen said. “It’s a beautiful day to say enough is enough, to stand up against anti-Asian violence and say, ‘This has to end.”