Vigil held in solidarity with Asian community
A socially distanced vigil meant to serve as a symbol of solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities was held outside Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance Friday evening.
A gathering of registered nurses, along with friends and family, voiced their outrage over the attacks against Asian community members that have dramatically escalated since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Racism is a health care issue,” Lucky Longoria, a registered nurse at Providence Little Company of Mary, said in a statement. “Whether direct injury or emotional trauma, the effects of anti-Asian hate are longlasting.”
“As nurses,” she added, “it is our responsibility to stand against racism and to protect our community.”
Miki Yamashita, a local singer, actress, and activist known for her work in the Netflix series “Cobra Kai” and Disney’s “The Lion King,” joined the vigil, where she presented her recording of “Amazing Grace,” accompanied on piano by Charlie Kim, who created the arrangement.
“We are not crayons in a box defined by color schemes,” nurse Lucky Longoria said in a poem she had written for the event. “Our colors blend, birthing babies who deserve more than one lane to play in.”
The event was the latest of dozens of rallies in Southern California in support of the Asian community.
Asian Americans have questioned how to deal with a recent wave of assaults — many on the elderly — that have coincided with the pandemic. The virus was first identified in China, and former President Donald Trump and others have used racial terms to describe it.
Numerous Asian American organizations say Trump’s rhetoric has emboldened people to express anti-Asian or anti-immigrant views. Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and its partner groups, since March 2020.
Nationally, women reported hate crimes 2.3 times more than men.
Locally, Los Angeles County officials reported earlier this month that hate crimes had doubled against Asian residents. An early March report by LAPD pointed to a 114% increase in hate crimes targeting Asians, from seven in 2019 to 15 last year. Civil rights groups say that number vastly undercounted hateful incidents, many of which weren’t reported to police.
In response, the county Board of Supervisors approved an effort Tuesday that could lead to a county fund that would support research into hate and xenophobia.
With the board’s unanimous vote, the Los Angeles County Equity and Diversity Fund — if ultimately found feasible by county human relations officials — would start with $1 million in county seed money. It would then look to tap into philanthropic partnerships to build that fund and tap local research institutions to better understand and address bias and racism against communities of color.