WHEREAS, The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action launched a hate incident-reporting internet website, titled “Stop AAPI Hate,” at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in March of 2020; and
WHEREAS, The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center documented over 2,800 hate incidents nationally against Asian Pacific Islander (API) Americans in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Over 700 of these incidents occurred in the bay area of California; and
WHEREAS, Racism toward APIs has always existed, such as the 19th-century scapegoating of APIs, also known as the “Yellow Peril”; and
WHEREAS, Racism against APIs has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Politically charged and culturally insensitive rhetoric referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “kung flu” further encourages racism, prejudice, and hate crimes against APIs; and
WHEREAS, The promotion of such language by former President Donald Trump during his term further propagated anti-API sentiments in light of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, On January 31, 2021, three elderly APIs were assaulted in the City of Oakland’s Chinatown District, including a 91-year-old API man who sustained serious injuries, such as lacerations, abrasions, and a contusion to the left thumb, in what is deemed a hate crime; and
WHEREAS, On January 30, 2021, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, a nearly-blind and gentle elderly Thai man, died from injuries resulting from an attack while he was walking in the City of San Francisco, in what is deemed as a hate crime; and
WHEREAS, About 31 percent of APIs report having been subject to discrimination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Pew Research Center report; and
WHEREAS, APIs in the State of California are increasingly concerned about their safety and well-being, given the rise of hate crimes and other racially motivated attacks; and
WHEREAS, In 2020, the California State Legislature’s API Legislative Caucus made efforts toward defending immigrant and refugee communities, engaged with hundreds of people to discuss xenophobia, and spoke out against anti-API hate incidents and hate crimes, while confronting realities of a worldwide pandemic; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate denounces hate crimes, hateful rhetoric, and hateful acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and works to ensure that APIs feel safe and welcome, both during this COVID-19 pandemic and beyond; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.