By Valeria Vazquez, Patriot Ledger
QUINCY — Sharon Mann, a Quincy resident and nurse, says she has already been accosted twice this year because she’s Asian.
Once in New York on a family trip and again in Boston’s Chinatown when she was picking up food. While in New York, she said she had no one but herself to defend her daughter against the verbal attack. The second time, she said a bystander had her back. And that it made all the difference.
“What a difference it made for me to hear those words, that I wasn’t alone this time,” Mann said. “And with all the racial tension going on in this country right now, we don’t meet people perpetuating the problem. Let’s protect one another and socially disarm these people when we notice a situation. Bystanders: If you see something, say something. If you see something, do something, call 911.”
Mann was one of the many Asian Americans to share her experiences of racism at Quincy Asian Resources Inc.’s “Fight Anti-Asian Hate” solidarity event at Quincy City Hall Saturday afternoon.
The event comes as Asian Americans across the country speak out about past racist experiences and new fears after the community – already facing increasing discrimination amid the coronavirus pandemic – appears to have been targeted in a series of spa attacks in Georgia.
Six of the eight victims killed in those shootings were identified as of Asian descent, and Asian Americans and lawmakers across the country have reported increased fear of attacks on their communities.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, Attorney General Maura Healey, State Rep. Tackey Chan of Quincy, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey all spoke at the event.
“Let’s not kid ourselves — there is evil in the world. But we can not let those acts of violence or those individuals define who we are because we know we’re better than that,” Koch said. “I’m proud to stand here with our Asian brothers and sisters, and really denounce any of these issues going on across our country.”
Chan, who grew up in Quincy, detailed his own experiences with racism in the city as an Asian American, and said he had rocks thrown at him and racial slurs used against him.
“I’ve lived here my entire life, since 1973 when there were very few people that looked like me, and today I see a crowd that looks more like me than ever,” Chan said. “I’ve been told to go home, I’ve been told I’m part of an invasion, I’ve been told to be more American. I’ve been told many things about keeping your place, you’re really good at math. I’m not good at math, folks.”
The hundreds of people in attendance at the rally ranged in age and ethnicity, and many carried signs made out of cardboard and tennis rackets emblazoned with the words “Stop Asian Hate.” The event started with a moment of silence and bell tolls from the United First Parish Church.
Qing Li, a Braintree resident, went to the rally with her 10-year-old son.
“I wanted my son to join this event because he needs to know how to stop this in school, and I want him to share this with his classmates,” Li said. “I felt the same pain, when [the speakers] shared their story and we all want to get rid of Asian hate. I know it’s not easy to get rid of this completely, but today we wanted to try to do something to connect with each other and to stand by each other.”
Jaden Liang, 17, was also in attendance as a QARI volunteer and youth leader. Liang said he started volunteering to raise awareness about the racism his community faces.
“I’m not going to act like personally I’ve dealt with any Asian racism, being surrounded by other Asians growing up. But hearing stories of some of my closest friends dealing with these attacks based solely on their race gave me motivation to help spread their stories and give initiative to this cause,” Liang said.
In the last year, Asian hate crimes have increased by 150 percent, data from Stop AAPI Hate says. Of those, 68 percent of Asian hate crimes are against women and 35 percent of the discrimination happens in the workforce.
“Now it is the time for action. When the cameras go away and no one’s reporting on this, we can not take our foot off the pedal,” said Grace Lee, the former chief of Civil Rights prosecution for Norfolk County. “We need to continue to be seen, we need to continue to be heard because we cannot remain invisible anymore.”
In Quincy, the most recent demographic information estimates nearly 30,000 of the city’s 94,000 residents were of Asian descent.
Chan and Lynch also detailed their efforts as elected officials to fight Asian American hate.
Several bills are before the U.S. House of representatives including House Resolution 151, which calls on federal and local officials to expeditiously investigate all reports of hate crimes and harassment against Asian Americans; House Resolution 1843, or the The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which requires the Department of Justice to assign a point person to expedite the review of COVID-19 related hate crimes; and the Teaching Asian Pacific American History act, which requires Asian Pacific American history to be part of American history and civics classes.
“When you speak, no one listens, but you get blamed for not speaking. It’s our fault, we’re too silent. Well that’s a farce,” Chan said. “We’ve been told that it’s our responsibility to have us learn English, us to assimilate, us to become more American. How dare they, how dare them to tell me I’m not American.”
QARI’s event was one of several many Asian solidarity events held Saturday. Quincy for Transformative Change, a citizen’s group, held the “Stand Up, Speak Out! Pan-Asian Solidarity Rally” at Quincy City Hall later in the afternoon. In Boston, there was an event titled “Out of the Orient: A March for Asian Futures” hosted by the Asian Coalition MA, a group of Asian and Pacific Islander youth from across the state that formed a few weeks ago.
“We were able to like the voices of the most vulnerable communities, with the most vulnerable groups within our community, really focusing on a conversation on transforming these systems of oppression rather than Band-Aid solutions,” said Jasmine Ni, one of the organizers from the Asian Coalition MA. “We know that this is deeper than just COVID, we know that it goes beyond the pandemic. It’s been an ongoing battle against white supremacy.
Recent Comments