Eight minutes of silence. One minute for each of the victims killed in the Atlanta spa shootings. That’s how a coalition of Asian American community organizations in L.A. observed the one-year anniversary of the massacre.
The continued violence does not surprise Connie Chung Joe, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, one of the groupsShe said the racist rhetoric of former President Trump helped to catalyze anti-Asian sentiment, but that the antagonism runs deep in this country.“We're not true Americans — that is an underlying perception about Asian Americans,” Joe said. “Look [at] the Chinese Exclusion Act, World War II, 9/11, Vincent Chin.
When the Atlanta shootings happened, just three days after she had helped put on an anti-Asian hate rally that drew hundreds to Little Tokyo, Di Barbadillo said she almost expected it. “My first reaction — it’s sad actually — was ‘I’m not surprised’,” said Barbadillo, a community organizer. “It just felt like with this recent wave of anti-Asian violence that something big was almost bound to happen.”Standing at the intersection of xenophobia, racism and misogny is nothing new for Asian Americans. But Joe said the scope of the tragedy, perpetrated by a gunman who targeted Asian-run businesses and blamed his actions on sexual addiction, opened a lot of people's eyes.
and vigils demanding justice for the victims: Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Yaun, Paul Michels, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant and Yong Ae Yue. Atlanta"empowered the [Asian American Pacific Islander] community to really come out on the streets demanding justice, demanding equity and asking for assistance from the stakeholders," said Steve Kang, director of external affairs at the Koreatown Youth and Community Center.
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