Condemning Hate and Violence Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

WHEREAS xenophobic and racist hate has long been directed at Asian American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) communities, from the “Yellow Peril” rhetoric of the 19th century, to the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, and to the violence directed against South Asians and Sikhs in the aftermath of 9/11; and most recently racism against AAPI communities has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, stoked by former President Donald Trump’s use of racist rhetoric, further inciting hate against AAPIs; and

WHEREAS the Stop AAPI Hate project has tracked a dramatic increase in anti-Asian hate in the past year especially against vulnerable senior citizens and women, including more than 3,000 reported cases of hate against AAPIs nationwide since March 2020, and in Los Angeles County alone, from March through October 2020, there were 245 such incidents of hate, ranging from verbal harassment, racial slurs, name-calling and physical assaults; and

WHEREAS the last two months alone have seen multiple attacks  against the AAPI community, including on January 28, 2021, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee succumbed to his injuries after he was violently shoved to the ground by an assailant in what was deemed murder and hate crime by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office; and on January 31, 2021, three elderly Asian persons were assaulted in the city of Oakland’s Chinatown District, including a 91-year-old Asian gentleman who was violently shoved down; and on February 7, 2021, Matthew Leung was physically assaulted while waiting for a bus in Rosemead, the attacker used Leung’s cane striking him multiple times causing him to lose the tip of his finger; and on February 16, 2021, Denny Kim, an Air Force veteran, was physically assaulted in Koreatown (Los Angeles) and berated with racial slurs such as “ching chong” and “Chinese Virus”; and

THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED that the Riverside County Democratic Party vehemently denounces violent attacks and continued racist and xenophobic rhetoric against AAPI communities; calls on our elected officials to condemn anti-Asian sentiment in any and all forms; and strongly supports the AAPI community to feel safe and included in Los Angeles County.

Authored by: Paul Seo, AD 66, Credentials Committee, Co-Chair, Hannah Cho, AD 54, Vice-Chair, Adam Ma, AD 54 – Alternate, Alton Wang, AD 49, Vice-Chair and Olivia Lee, AD 55, Vice-Chair  Sponsor: Cindy Chen, Region 7 Secretary, AD 55 Chair

Passed by Riverside County Democratic Party 3/29/2021