API Community Works With Councilmembers To Introduce City Resolution Addressing API Racism and Discrimination
05/27/20
The San Diego Asian Pacific Islander (SD API) Coalition has collaborated with San Diego Council President Georgette Gomez (D9) and Councilmember Monica Montgomery (D4) to introduce a resolution addressing the increasing racist incidents against the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community since the wake of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
The resolution proposes that the City of San Diego should document and report hate crimes through the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center as part of a national effort of combating anti-API discrimination.
“Our community is stronger because of our diversity, but this
pandemic has exposed an ugly underbelly of society that is attacking
the local Asian and Pacific Islander community," said Supervisor
Fletcher. "This type of behavior is not welcome here and I
support Council President Gomez and Councilmember Montgomery in
denouncing xenophobia and anti-API sentiment. As our County’s new
Human Relations Commission starts to take shape, we look forward to
working with the City and the API community to cultivate an
environment that encourages greater understanding and respect.”
The City Council will also encourage City staff to work with
the San Diego Human Relations Commission to address and investigate
any anti-API incidents.
The San Diego API Coalition in
collaboration with City Council plans to use the information reported
to create targeted education and media campaigns, provide resources to
those affected, and advocate for policies to curb racial targeting as
well as to address health inequities.
The resolution is
docketed on the City Council meeting agenda as an action item and will
be voted on on Tuesday, June 2 by the councilmembers.
As
COVID-19 has spread, there have been numerous reports of Asian Pacific
Islanders experiencing microaggressions, racial profiling, hate
incidents and, in some cases, hate violence due to fears of COVID-19.
The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for
Affirmative Action created an online reporting center “Stop
AAPI Hate” to quantify and combat hate crimes targeting
APIs.
As of April 29, 2020, Stop AAPI Hate
received 1,711 reports of hate acts in the first seven weeks across at
least 45 states and the District of Columbia. The report shows 28
cases of anti-API acts in San Diego County reported from March 19 to
April 29, 2020 including incidents of verbal harassment, shunning, and
physical assault.
Over 30,000 businesses are API-owned in
San Diego, with numerous dining and hospitality establishments having
reported a decrease in business since January 2020 at the beginning of
the outbreak.