Spurred to action by recent violent attacks in Atlanta and the Bay Area, hundreds of protesters gathered in San Francisco on Friday to rally against anti-Asian American hate.
The crowd marched from Union Square to the Embarcadero, shouting “Rise up people, rise up” and “The people united will never be defeated,” while waving signs that demanded “Stop Asian Hate.” The event kicked off a weekend of rallies planned throughout the Bay Area in response to what many say has become a troubling surge in violence against local Asian Americans.
Anna Verzosa, one of the organizers of the youth-led San Francisco rally, said it’s important to educate people about the history of racism and discrimination in the U.S.
“It can’t just be a trend, it has to be a long-lasting story of: How did we get to this place?” said Verzosa, the community and political affairs chair of San Jose State’s Akbayan Pilipinx-American Organization. “It’s disappointing it had to get to mass shootings and violence to get attention.”
The march is part of a growing cry to stamp out violence against Asian Americans, following a shooting last week that left eight people — six of them Asian-American women — dead at spas in and around Atlanta. Violence victimizing Asian Americans appears to have increased during the pandemic, including in the Bay Area, where recent violent attacks and robberies have shaken local Chinatowns.
COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China, and many say racist messaging from former President Donald Trump about the pandemic contributed to the surge in violence.
Flanked by San Francisco Supervisors Matt Haney and Shamann Walton, former Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer — a fourth-generation Chinese American — praised the youth leaders who had organized Friday’s rally. As a child, Lee Fewer said, she watched a White woman push her mother down on a Muni bus, leaving her with a “slow seething anger.” She also recounted being yelled at to leave the country when she was in a grocery store parking lot.
“These incidents are not new,” she said. “These incidents have always happened.”
But Lee Fewer said she had a message for the people who attacked her and her mom: “I say to them, we are going to stay,” she told a cheering crowd.
People up and down the Bay Area have been protesting anti-Asian American hate for weeks. Several hundred people gathered in San Mateo’s Central Park last month. People rallied in front of San Jose City Hall in mid-March, and again last Sunday — when more than 1,000 people converged to draw attention to the cause.
California Congresswoman Judy Chu dubbed Friday a national day to speak out against anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate. South San Francisco Councilwoman Buenaflor Nicolas, who is Filipino American, joined other city leaders on the steps of City Hall to say “enough is enough.”
“I want to ensure that my grandchildren will grow up to be proud and comfortable of who they are – Americans who happen to be Asians,” she said, according to a news release after the event.
Santa Clara County’s Hate Crimes Task Force heard presentations from a variety of groups Friday, including Stop AAPI Hate. Between March 2020 and February 2021, the organization received reports of 3,795 hate incidents throughout the country — including 1,691 in California and 142 in Santa Clara County, said Co-Executive Director Cynthia Choi.
“Parents are very concerned about their children returning to school,” she said. “Many are afraid to ride public transit.”
In San Francisco, the crowd gathered at Embarcadero Plaza, where speakers included the family of Angelo Quinto, who died after an altercation with Antioch police in December.
San Francisco residents Kat Escudero and Isabell Delacruz said they came to the rally out of frustration with the continued attacks against Asian Americans.
“Our elders have been abused and discriminated against and people are not listening,” Delacruz said. “This is a problem.”
They brought their dogs, Hiccup and Loaf the Pup, sporting “Stop Asian Hate” and “I Poop On Racists” signs, respectively. Escudero, who said she now worries for the safety of her parents and grandparents amid the recent attacks, drew a parallel to summer protests over police killings of Black people and growing frustration with racist violence. Her sign said “Black Lives Matter” on one side and “Listen to my Dog” on the other.
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“Why do we have to keep reusing the same signs?” she asked. “Why are we constantly out here?”
Upcoming Stop Anti-Asian Hate Rallies
Several rallies are planned for this weekend around the Bay Area. Here are a few:
Saturday: “Stop Asian Hate” rally. 11 a.m., meet at San Francisco City Hall and march to Union Square.
“Stop Anti-Asian Violence” rally. 11 a.m., meet at St. Mary’s Square, San Francisco for a vigil for the victims of the Atlanta attacks. 12 p.m. march to Union Square.
“# Stop Asian Hate” rally. 11 a.m., Saratoga City Hall.
“Stand up and stop violence against Asian Americans” rally. 12:30 p.m., corner of El Camino Real and Jefferson Avenue, Redwood City.
“Skate Against Violence.” 2 p.m. Aquatic Park, San Francisco.
“Candlelight Vigil & Remembrance #StopAAPIHate.” 3 p.m., Santa Cruz County building.
Sunday: “Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Rising.” 2-4 p.m., Aquatic Park, 84 Bolivar Dr., Berkeley.
“Stop Asian Hate! Stop Anti-Asian Violence!” 3-4:30 p.m., Emerald Glen Park (in front of the Wave), Glynnis Rose Drive, Dublin
“Heal our Communities: A Community Care Space for Asian Americans.” 4-5:30 p.m., Lake Elizabeth, Fremont.
Friday, April 2: “#Stop Asian Hate.” 2:30 p.m. Meet at Oakland City Hall, march through Chinatown to Lake Merritt Amphitheater for a rally.
