Activists gathered in Nubian Square Saturday to speak out against anti-Asian hate. The rally came after the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings, when eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women.
The ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war and anti-racist activist group, organized the rally as part of a National Day of Action. Similar rallies took place in more than 60 cities across the United States, according to the organization’s website.
“We’re acknowledging the racist, sexist and white supremacist character of this mass shooting,” Gabby Ballard, an ANSWER Coalition organizer, said during the rally, “which is the only way to properly root out the causes of these incidents.”
Ballard emceed the rally from the steps leading down to Justice Edward O. Gourdin Veterans Memorial Park. As the crowd swelled to more than 100 people, Ballard introduced the afternoon’s first speaker.
“For 2020 and 2021, Asian women and gender-nonconforming people made up 71% of all reported hate crimes,” Micah Fong, a member of the ANSWER Coalition, said.
Fong warned of the dangers of demonizing China, citing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 among other examples of American anti-Asian sentiment.
“Claims that China is going to destroy the economy, steal jobs or that it’s a totalitarian empire hellbent on oppressing people are all projected onto the Asian American community,” Fong said. “This is the mentality of Yellow Peril at work.”
Manny Chong, an organizer with Stop Asian Hate, asked fellow Asian Americans in the crowd how much hate they have tolerated, to which a crowd member replied: “too much.”
“Enough is enough,” Chong said. “For too long, society has told us that we don’t belong here.”
Chong further spoke on the history of “Yellow Peril,” adding that the fears behind the term date to around 500 B.C.
“It’s not enough for us to just show up and be here to support,” Chong said. “We got to connect with each other because this is our community, this is our people. I don’t want you to leave here without connecting with at least one person.”
Next, Ballard introduced Sharik Purkar, an organizer with the Boston South Asian Coalition, who spoke on the U.S. government’s intentions with China and how it neglects domestic issues.
“We do not need wars and mass incarceration,” Purkar said. “What we need is jobs and education.”
The afternoon’s final speaker, ANSWER Coalition organizer Joe Tache, said the Atlanta shootings reminded him of the 2015 Charleston shooting, when Dylann Roof killed nine Black churchgoers.
“He’s probably sitting in his prison cell right now, applauding what happened in Atlanta last week,” Tache said.
Tache called for solidarity between the Black and Asian communities.
“Look around you right now,” Tache said. “There’s not just Asian people in this crowd demanding an end to China bashing and an end to anti-Asian violence.”
Emily Bunting, a human resources information system business analyst in Boston, said she came out after seeing the rally on Instagram. Burning echoed Tache’s sentiments.
“I think that Black and Asian solidarity is something that’s just extremely important,” Bunting said, “and unfortunately has been downplayed for so long in our country.”
Husayn Karimi, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, told The Daily Free Press the ANSWER Coalition is co-hosting a panel discussion on Black and Asian solidarity April 17.
Karimi said he was happy with the afternoon’s turnout, especially with difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The fact that well over 100 people, probably nearly 200 people, came out for this just shows the fact that people really unite with the demand to end anti-Asian violence,” Karimi said.
Ballard led the crowd in a final chant against anti-Asian violence to finish off the rally.
“Say it loud, we won’t be silenced, stop all anti-Asian violence,” Ballard called — the crowd repeated.
