Six Asian-American women were among the eight victims killed in or near Atlanta on March 16, 2021. Many joined the fight against rising hostility .
Atlanta Asian Justice rallies attracted around 100 people. Speakers railed against stereotypes of Asian women being either docile, or exotic, and claimed that these harmful perceptions contribute towards violence.
“Being an Asian woman means you are sensitive to the fetishization. “It just reminds me of how much work there is to be done,” Jennifer Fero, a school administrator from Korea, said at the rally.
Fero said that it was up to him to “educate the public about the AAPI experience, and what microaggressions are and how hate crimes look.”
A few hundred people came together in New York to commemorate the event and remember the victims. Anqi Wang (24), who has been living in New York for five year, was one of them. She stated that she avoids crowds and uses pepper spray to keep her hands on the spray. Although she describes herself as quiet and shy, she felt it was important to attend Wednesday’s event to let her voice be heard.
“We’re here. She said, “We deserve to be seen. We deserve safety. And we deserve to feel that we belong.”
Georgia Rep. Bee Nguyen was the first Vietnamese American to be elected to the state House. She told the crowd that the deaths hit close to home for her as a child of Asian immigrants. She said that the victims of racism, xenophobia and gender-based violence were those who died.
She said, “It shouldn’t take a tragedy like this to make us wake up.”
StopAAPI Hate has been keeping track of incidents across the country based on victim self-reporting. It recorded 10,905 incidents from March 19, 2020 to the end of 2018, with 4,632 in 2020 and 6,273 by 2021. The incidents were 61.8% reported by women.
Robert Aaron Long was responsible for the murders of four people: Xiaojie Tan, 49, Daoyou Feng (44), Delaina Yanun, 33, and Paul Michels (54). He also seriously injured a fifth victim at Youngs Asian Massage, Cherokee County. According to authorities he drove approximately 30 miles (48 km) to Atlanta where he killed three people — Suncha Kim, 69, Soon Chung Park and Hyun Jung Grant. He then crossed the street and murdered Yong Ae Yue at Aromatherapy Spa.
Politicians across the country, including President Joe Biden, noted the somber anniversary.
He said that the horrific crimes in America have shaken communities and highlighted how far America has to go to combat racism, misogyny and all forms hate, as well as the epidemic of gun violence which enables extremists.
Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston, her voice shaking at times, stated that the emotions and pain from last year still felt fresh to her as she reflected on it during a virtual event earlier in the week.
“What we saw last year was in some ways the conclusion or another stage in the escalation in attacks that our communities face since the pandemic started, as we saw the horrifying video of elders being pushed to the floor, women being attacked while waiting for buses,” stated the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, who became the first woman elected mayor of the city and the first person of color in its history.
While prejudice and discrimination against Asian Americans in the U.S. is not new, racist verbal attacks and physical attacks rose sharply after coronavirus was first discovered in China two years ago. Many believe that the coronavirus virus was spread by former President Donald Trump, who used racial terms when discussing it.
Police said that Long, shortly after the shooting in Georgia, blamed his actions on a “sex addict,” although this disorder is not officially recognized by the government. They also targeted the spas as a means of temptation. Many Asian Americans and their friends found this explanation unacceptable. They saw the killings in Georgia as hate crimes.
, a white man, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges during the Cherokee County shootings. In Fulton County, Long pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the Cherokee County shootings. The district attorney is seeking the death penalty. She also pursues a sentencing increase under the state hatred crimes law.
Participants in Wednesday’s commemoration events pointed out that violence against Asian women continues. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, initial figures from police agencies show that anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. rose by 339% between 2021 and 2020. The actual figures could be higher as many victims are reluctant to report incidents and not all hate crimes are being charged.
Police said that a Black man used an antisiasian slur to punch a 67 year-old Asian woman in Yonkers, New York. He did so more than 125 times. A 28-year old white man was arrested earlier this month for hate crimes. Police said that he had randomly punched seven Asian women in less than two hours.
Susanna Jaramillo is a 25-year old Chinese American woman who attended New York’s event. Her mother, who lives in New Jersey, worries about Jaramillo. Jaramillo’s mother attempts to comfort her by suggesting that strangers may not recognize her Asian features since Jaramillo is also half-Colombian.
“It’s very upsetting to hear that, because my mother has always taught me to be proud to be Chinese American. She said that it was heartbreaking that she believes maybe we should suppress this.
