34 MARCH 25, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Jackson Heights community mourns victims
of Atlanta shooting, denounces anti-Asian hate
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
More than 100 community members gathered
for a candlelight vigil in Diversity Plaza in
Jackson Heights on Wednesday, March 17,
to mourn the eight victims, six of whom were Asian
American women, of the tragic mass shooting at
several Atlanta spas earlier this week.
At nightfall, people of different ages and backgrounds
held candles and chanted “stop hate
crimes” as the 7 train roared overhead.
The tragedy that took place at three spas in
Atlanta on Tuesday, March 16, has sparked more
fear and anger among Asian American communities
in the U.S. as reports of anti-Asian hate and
violence have surged exponentially in the last
year. Nearly 3,800 racist incidents against Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the U.S.
were reported over the last year, according to Stop
AAPI Hate.
“We are beyond sad; we are angry. We are
frustrated and we are heartbroken at the senseless
violence that has deprived families of their
mothers and sisters and daughters that they so
dearly loved,” Ahyoung Kim, associate director of
small business programs at the Asian American
Federation, said through tears.
Weilai, a Jackson Heights resident, said she
brought her 5-year-old daughter to the vigil to
make sure she knows “we cannot be silent.”
“I don’t want her to grow up in this fear,” Weilai
said. “Not even just talking about race, but just
being a woman. We can’t be the silent minority
anymore.”
Atlanta authorities charged 21-year-old Robert
Aaron Long, a white man, for the shootings on
Wednesday. Authorities said the suspect claimed
he had a “sexual addiction” and carried out the
shootings to eliminate the “temptation,” but
haven’t ruled out bias motives, according to The
New York Times.
Korean-language media have since reported
Long expressed anti-Asian comments while carrying
out the attacks.
An Atlanta police officer also said the suspect
had “a really bad day,” a comment that’s outraged
community members. The officer was later found
to have posted racist T-shirts on social media, according
to Buzzfeed News.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards,
referencing the police officer’s comment, said, “If
you had a bad day, go get some ice cream.”
“This what white supremacy at its worst, let’s call
it what it is,” Richards said. “Don’t tell me about
a bad day; tell me about the domestic terrorism
perpetrated by this individual. This had nothing
to do about a bad day — this had to do with hate.
Hatred stoked by those who were emboldened and
who have been emboldened from the actions of the
last administration.”
Richards has vehemently condemned the
anti-Asian attacks that have recently occurred
in Queens.
In New York City, the number of hate crimes
reported to the NYPD by Asian Americans last
year grew nine times from 2019, according to a
report by THE CITY.
Shekar Krishnan, a community activist and
candidate for Jackson Heights City Council who
A vigil for the victims of the Atlanta shooting was held at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights on
March 17. Photo by Dean Moses
organized the vigil, said anti-Asian hate and
violence has existed long before the COVID-19
pandemic.
“But our AAPI communities have been invisibilized
for so long, stereotyped for so long, and it is
that bigotry, that prejudice and xenophobia that
results in the violence after violence that we are
seeing,” he said. “Today, we are here to say that we
will not be silenced, that an attack on one of us is
an attack on all of us, and that we as community,
we as a city, keep ourselves safe together.”
Krishnan added that it’s also a time to “recommit
to dismantling white supremacy in all its forms.”
Carolyn Tran, a longtime community leader
and candidate for Jackson Heights City Council,
emphasized that 68 percent of the 3,800 reported
racist incidents against AAPI community were
toward women.
Tran said the shooting in Atlanta is a “continuation
of the erasure, the dehumanization, the
hyper-sexualization of Asian women” within
the history of U.S. colonialism, adding that AAPI
women must be centered to address the issues.
“East Asians, southeast Asians make up a majority
of the service industry — nail salon workers,
message parlors, hospitality — and it is because
of our over-representation in this industries that
we are also seen as vulnerable and we are always
silenced,” Tran said. “Enough of that.”
The shooting also reignited calls for sex workers
to be treated with dignity and respect. According
to a USA Today report, illicit reviews of the spas
have raised red flags that the shooter may have
targeted vulnerable workers.
Chuck Park, a Jackson Heights resident, spoke
about his parents, who’ve owned a store on 74th
Street for 35 years, coming home with stories of
assault for years.
He said he’s scared for his son, his wife “who
gets heckled walking through Diversity Plaza,”
and for “every single sex worker and street vendor”
on Roosevelt Avenue. He brought roses to
show solidarity with sex workers and other small
business owners on the busy business corridor.
Jake Valencia, 22, and Shirley Wang, 22, from
nearby Elmhurst, said they wanted to show solidarity,
respect and commemorate Asian people.
Valencia, who is of Filipino descent, said it’s
particularly important to recognize Asian women
and sex workers.
“We need to destigmatize sex work. We need to
honor these people and respect them,” Valencia
said. “These are not people below us, they can be
anyone.”
They also said they were there for their grandparents
and elders, who they worry might experience
hate, given the way China has been blamed
for the pandemic.
Wang, who is of Chinese descent, said the virus
being called the “China virus” — a slur coined by
former President Donald Trump — is “unnecessary
and starting hate for no reason.”
“Every country in the world has gotten this
coronavirus, and it’s important to fight it together
than start hate and point fingers and start blaming
one race for all of this. It could have happened
anywhere,” Wang said. “In the past there have
been various viruses, diseases that start in other
countries and we don’t blame them; we start to fix
the problem. How are we going to fix a problem
by creating another problem?”
Arthur Ahn, who was born and raised in central
Queens, was moved to tears at the vigil and said
the gathering reminded him “that our humanity
is not lost.”
“It’s a tragedy in itself that we even need to have
a vigil like this, let alone the incredible tragedy of
what happened yesterday in Atlanta,” Ahn said.
“It’s uplifting to see all these people even in the
face of mourning.”
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