4 MARCH 25, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Meng raises awareness of upcoming #StopAsianHate
Action Day to condemn
the recent rise of violence
against Asian Americans
these acts of hate — call it out, prevent
it, report it. We need every person to
step up and stand against it,” Meng
said. “Our diversity has always made
us stronger. We cannot and must lose
sight of this. These senseless attacks
must stop and we are better than
this.”
Stop AAPI Hate reported that it
has received almost 3,800 reports of
hate incidents from March 19, 2020,
to Feb. 28, 2021. The Center for the
Study of Hate Extremism shows that
anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 149
percent in major cities across the U.S.,
while overall hate crimes dropped by
7 percent. New York City alone saw an
increase of reported attacks on the
Asian American community, which
went from 3 in 2019 to 28 in 2020, an
increase of 833 percent.
In Queens, there have been anti-
Asian hate crimes that have unfolded,
including a recent incident involving
a 13-year-old Asian American boy who
was attacked by a group of teens on a
Flushing basketball court in Bowne
Playground on March 16.
The 13-year-old victim was shoved to
the ground and three boys took turns
throwing a basketball at the young
man’s head. One of the attackers said,
“Stupid f——g Chinese. Go back to your
country,” according to authorities. No
arrests have been made and the attack
is under investigation by the NYPD’s
Hate Crimes Task Force.
Prior to that attack, an Asian American
mother was walking near a Fresh
Meadows park with her 2-year-old
baby on March 9, when an unidentifi ed
man spit in her direction and called
her the “Chinese virus.” In a separate
incident, an elderly Asian American
woman waiting in line outside of
a Flushing bakery last month was
assaulted by a man, who shoved her
to the ground and allegedly yelled a
racial slur.
The surge in violent attacks against
Asian American Pacific Islanders
(AAPIs) has led to various groups in
Queens rallying in support of the community,
according to Meng, who gave
a passionate and emotional testimony
during a House Judiciary Committee
hearing on violence against Asian
Americans on March 18.
“Over the past few months, so many
diff erent communities have rallied in
support of the Asian American community
— Black, Hispanic, Native
Americans — have stood with Asian
Americans throughout the past year,
and especially in the last few days.
Their allyship has been critical in
our fi ght and it has meant a lot to me
and our entire Asian community,”
said Meng, also recognizing leaders
and elected offi cials on all levels of
government showing solidarity to
combat discrimination against the
community.
The congresswoman has reintroduced
the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act as
AAPIs experience a wave of physical,
verbal and online attacks in Queens
and beyond. The legislation seeks to
address the ongoing hate and violence
toward AAPIs by providing greater
assistance with law enforcement response
to COVID-19 hate crimes and
creating a position at the Department
of Justice to facilitate review of such
cases.
According to Meng, it’s not just a
simple solution of law enforcement
presence at the local level, but it’s
also providing resources to prevent
these incidents from happening in
communities.
“Our groups on the ground have
been providing resources and help
in multilingual ways that our government
hasn’t done a good enough job of
doing,” Meng said. “They need more
resources because they’re literally
dealing with everyday Asian Americans
on the ground providing them
support, whether it’s mental health,
rent, and a whole slew of social services
networks that are not robust
enough in terms of support they get
from the government.”
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In the wake of anti-Asian hate crimes
on the rise across the country and
the tragic mass shootings in Georgia
that claimed the lives of eight people,
including six Asian women, Queens
Congresswoman Grace Meng and her
colleagues are raising awareness of
the upcoming #StopAsianHate Virtual
Day of Action and Healing on Friday,
March 26.
The lawmakers held a virtual press
conference on Monday, March 22,
encouraging members of the public,
corporations, organizations and
other entities to post statements on
Friday condemning the rise in hate
and violence against Asian Americans
that has occurred during the COVID-19
pandemic. They are also asking that
the public hold a moment of silence in
remembrance of the Atlanta victims
and their families.
The #StopAsianHate Virtual Action
Day is being held on a signifi cant day,
as the U.S. enacted its fi rst immigration
law on March 26, 1790. The Naturalization
Act specifi ed that “any alien, being
a free white person,” could apply for
citizenship, but it excluded Black people,
Asians and Native Americans.
Meng, who serves as the fi rst vice
chair of the Congressional Asian Pacifi
c American Caucus, said the racist
attacks against Asian Americans have
been “despicable, sickening, unconscionable
and disgusting,” resulting
in heightened fear in Asian communities,
where people are frightened and
traumatized by the scapegoating and
bigotry that began since the beginning
of the pandemic.
“We are asking everyone throughout
the country to stand up for Asian
Americans during this diffi cult and
challenging time for our community.
Everyone must do their part to end
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