‘Hate is a virus.’ SLO residents rally in support of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders
About 120 people gathered at Mitchell Park in San Luis Obispo on Thursday afternoon in support of the Asian American Pacific Islander community amid a spate of violent attacks on people across the United States in recent weeks.
Organizers for the STOP AAPI HATE Peaceful Rally and March said the purpose of the event was to catalyze a movement to fight the systemic racism that plagues the AAPI community by bringing together San Luis Obispo County in solidarity.
The rally, which began at 4 p.m., was followed by a march around the downtown core and through Mission Plaza. The event was peaceful and family friendly, with at least two dozen children in attendance.
Organizers Kaela Lee, a Cal Poly student athlete, and Mia Shin, college ministry director at San Luis Obispo’s Agape Church, said in a news release prior to the rally that the event was held with the help of Black Lives Matter Community Action and the local BLM organization and sought to “bring the community together not just for solidarity, but for awareness and education.”
“We are not invisible. We will not be silent,” Lee wrote in a prepared statement before the rally. “We are here to fight the systemic racism that capitalizes on the entire BIPOC community.”
“The AAPI community will stand together with all residents of SLO County to declare that generations of Asian hate and violence will no longer be tolerated,” said Shin, who spoke at local protests following the alleged murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. “As a Christian, and in light of the harmful narrative of the recent murders in Georgia, I am calling on all people of faith show up and take action against the evil of hate and racism.”
The rally began with a speech from Shin, who has lived in San Luis Obispo County for more than 20 years.
“I make this community and this country a better place,” Shin said.
Shin opened up her speech declaring the beginning of the end of violence and discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Islander people, and the “fetishization and devaluation” of Asian women.
She told the crowd that the Atlanta spa shootings in March that left eight people dead intentionally targeted Asian women.
“The shifting of blame from the white murderer to the (victims) will not be tolerated,” Shin said.
Shin said spoke at Thursday’s rally to give her ancestors “the voice they never had.”
“I’m here to give them honor today,” she said.
Shin also did a call-and-response to the children in the crowd, instructing them that if they witness hate, they need to tell the person to “stop being mean.”
If children see someone in trouble, they should ask, “Can I help you?” she said.
Shin left the crowd with small steps they can take to cease marginalizing AAPI people, such as not using “Asian” as a primary descriptor. People can educate themselves about the AAPI experience with the five-part documentary series “Asian Americans” on PBS.
“There are definite steps you can take so the people here can make the change in our community,” Shin said.
Lee told the crowd that the day’s event was about solidarity in combating white supremacy, which she said has “long pit minorities against each other.” Lee said the AAPI community was holding the rally in solidarity with the Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other marginalized groups.
“We are all human and we all belong here,” Lee said.
At about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, about 150 protesters began the march into downtown San Luis Obispo, chanting, “BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) unity to end white supremacy,” “hate is a virus, we don’t need your bias,” and “get it right the first time, that was a hate crime.”
Thursday’s rally followed a series of assaults on people of AAPI descent across the United States, most of which are alleged to be motivated by racial hate, including a brutal daytime attack on a woman on a Manhattan sidewalk by a 38-year-old suspect.
The Manhattan District Attorney alleges that Brandon Elliot told 65-year-old Vilma Kari “you don’t belong here” before attacking her on Monday, according to the Washington Post.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
