(Komo News) SEATTLE — The growing violence against Asian Americans and the deadly shooting spree in Atlanta are bringing different communities together in the fight against hate.
King County has a long history of community partners banding together during tough times. The fight against hate crimes is no different.
The city’s mayor and dozens of community members turned out in Bellevue Thursday to take a stand against hate directed at Asian Americans.
It’s part of the ongoing “We Will Not Be Silent” rallies across King County this week at a time where there has been a rising number of attacks on members of the API community nationwide.
One of them includes the brutal assault on a local Japanese language high school teacher in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District last month.
The violence is often connected to fear, misunderstanding, and racism stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. For demonstrator Gayle Miyake, it’s personal.
“It’s frightening to know people that look like me are being targeted,” Miyake said.
“There’s not an Asian family that I know who isn’t scared right now,” said Sina Sam with SEARAC, Southeast Asian Resource Action Center, the only national civil rights organization serving the Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese American communities.
The horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia that ended in the deaths of 6 Asian American women—is galvanizing people across Puget Sound to take action. Beside the daily “corner rallies” across King County, various community groups are also taking to social media to demand a to stop anti-Asian hate.
Groups involved in earlier efforts to support the Black Lives movement are also turning to show their support of the Asian American community.
We’re hearing from the Muslim community, the Black community, and the Latino community in King County. It’s a show of solidarity and allyship.
“Hate crimes are not new,” Sam said. “Especially not new for Asian community and other communities of color and other marginalized groups.”
“From the Muslim American community, we see that this is a buildup of the hateful rhetoric,” said Irmaan Saddiqi, Executive Director of CAIR-Washington, Council of American-Islamic Relations. “We’re are going to continue to stand in solidarity with our Asian American brothers and sisters who are being targeted by senseless harassment right now.”
Saddiqi, who’s hometown is Atlanta, Georgia, said the shootings really struck a nerve.
“It’s something that really hits close to home, being connected with the AAPI community over there,” Saddiqi said.
