Mid-morning on Saturday, May 15, a group of citizens assembled at Freedom Plaza in D.C. to address the problem of violent hate crimes against Asian Americans. Recently, the Asian American community has been traumatized with violence rooted in lies and misconceptions of the previous presidential administration. Former President Donald Trump has falsely blamed Asian people for starting the COVID-19 pandemic and there’s been a rise in hate crimes against them over the past year because of this.
There were yellow whistles distributed at the rally to symbolize that Asian Americans have a long history in this country. They said “WE BELONG” on the side. The crowd would blow their whistles to show the unity of the Asian community.
The Unity Against Hate rally was part of a group of rallies held simultaneously in locations across the country to protest violence against Asian Americans. The event was hosted by groups such as the Taiwanese American Professionals-Washington D.C. chapter, the Yellow Whistle Campaign, the Korean American Political Association and more. Speakers included state legislators from Maryland and Virginia and U.S. Representative Kai Kahele from Hawaii.
Not all Asians are Chinese, and none of them should be traumatized or beaten up because they are Asian. The Asian community has contributed to the growth of this country and they continue to contribute to the GNP and taxes with billions of dollars.
We are the United State of America. All lives do matter. We have got to unify against violence.
