Students organize San Ramon protest to “Stop Asian Hate”
Demonstrators at local AAPI anti-hate rally.
April 28, 2021
Following the recent spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, Congressional candidate Rishi Kumar helped organize a youth-led anti-AAPI (American-Asian and Pacific Islander) hate rally on Sunday, April 25 at San Ramon’s Central Park. Despite the rainy weather, dozens of students and adults from the Tri-Valley area showed up in support of the AAPI rally.
Protests similar to these have taken place nationwide following a mass shooting of six Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia. To address this growing issue, Congress recently passed an anti-Asian hate crime bill with overwhelming support. The bill condemns Asian hate crimes and diverts resources to addressing these hate crimes.
High school students put together speeches displaying their passion to stop the recent amounts of AAPI-hate. One of them was Dougherty sophomore and an intern for Kumar’s congressional campaign, Emily Han.
Speaking passionately to the crowd, Han asked,“Is this what we want for our fellow Asian brothers and sisters? Are we going to keep quiet?”
Other speakers and attendees included Dublin city council member Sherry Hu, San Leandro city council member Fred Simon, and SRVUSD board member Laura Bratt. Community members agreed that action and awareness are necessary to end discrimination on a larger scale and bring in an “era of equality.”
“People tend to say situations aren’t just black and white, but when it comes to [a] debate over human rights, there’s only one morally correct answer,” said Katherine Huang, a sophomore at Dougherty. “We all deserve the same opportunities; we all deserve the same respect.”
