The Sac AAPI community still concerned about the number of hate crimes

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It’s AAPI Heritage Month in May. And while it’s time to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures, these communities are still grappling with an increase in hate crimes since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The question now is: have racist incidents decreased, increased or stayed about the same since the rise began? KCRA 3 data obtained from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Hate Crimes Unit shows how many racially motivated hate crimes against AAPI residents they have seen in recent years. In 2020, there were 16 total hate crime referrals and two referrals from law enforcement cases, with criminal charges laid in one case. , there have been seven hate crime referrals in total, putting it on track to match last year’s numbers. Stephanie Nguyen, executive director of Asian Resources, Inc. ofit empowering local Asians, said said the numbers don’t lie: Clearly there is still hatred against the Asian community. “It hasn’t improved. Our community continues to not report these incidents. It’s a cultural thing,” Nguyen said. The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, or APAPA, agreed that the trend is still on the rise. APAP’s national executive director, Henry Chang, said the organization’s main focus right now is on tackling anti-Asian sentiment. Stop Hate AAPI: The Effects of Racism on Mental Health “We’re talking with the attorney general’s office, with Bonta, to have an Asian Hate Task Force,” Chang said. APAPA is also working with California state legislators on Senate Bill 1363. , which would bring more diversity to school curricula across the state. According to an analysis of the bill, the proposed legislation “encourages schools to adopt a curriculum related to the history of Asian Americans and of the Pacific Islands (AAPI) for grades 1-6 and 7-12, in the social sciences. Chang said it would help combat the root causes of anti-Asian hatred. “We would like to stem the racism that is happening because Asian Americans – we were here – we contributed and it needs to be taught in our schools,” Chang said. SB 1363 passed the Senate Education Committee and is now heading to the Senate floor.Businesses in the Sacramento area have faced anti-Asian sentiment throughout the pandemic.Mya Kohart, owner of Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Corner in the Natomas area, said her business has been confronted to racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We got a few calls here and there at the very beginning asking if we were selling dog meat,” Kohart said. “It’s not something I would imagine happening to me.” Kohart said she hopes efforts to address racism will make a difference. “It would be easier if everyone was a little nicer to each other,” Kohart said.

It’s AAPI Heritage Month in May. And while it’s time to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures, these communities are still grappling with an increase in hate crimes since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The question now is: have racist incidents decreased, increased or stayed about the same since the rise began?

KCRA 3 data obtained from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Hate Crimes Unit shows the number of racially motivated hate crimes against AAPI residents that they have seen in recent years.

  • In 2020, there were 16 total hate crime referrals and two law enforcement case referrals, with criminal charges laid in one case.
  • In 2021, there were 21 total hate crime referrals and three law enforcement case referrals, with criminal charges laid in two cases.
  • In 2022, while there were no criminal charges, there were seven total hate crime dismissals, putting it on track to match last year’s numbers.

Stephanie Nguyen, executive director of Asian Resources, Inc., a grassroots nonprofit that empowers local Asians, said the numbers don’t lie: It’s clear there is still hatred against the community. Asian.

“It hasn’t improved. Our community continues to not report these incidents. It’s a cultural thing,” Nguyen said.

The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, or APAPA, agreed that the trend is still on the rise. APAP’s national executive director, Henry Chang, said the organization’s main focus right now is on tackling anti-Asian sentiment.

Related | Stop AAPI Hate: The Effects of Racism on Mental Health

“We’re talking to the attorney general’s office, with [Rob] Bonta, to have an Asian hate task force,” Chang said.

APAPA is also working with California state legislators on Senate Bill 1363, which would bring more diversity to school curricula across the state. According to an analysis of the bill, the proposed legislation “encourages schools to adopt a curriculum related to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history for students in grades 1-6. grades and grades 7 to 12, in the field of social studies”. Chang said it would help combat the root causes of anti-Asian hatred.

“We would like to stem the racism that is happening because Asian Americans — we were here — we contributed and that needs to be taught in our schools,” Chang said.

SB 1363 has passed the Senate Education Committee and is now heading to the Senate floor.

Sacramento-area businesses have faced anti-Asian sentiment throughout the pandemic. Mya Kohart, owner of Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Corner in the Natomas region, said her business has faced racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We got a few calls here and there early on asking if we were selling dog meat,” Kohart said. “It’s not something that I imagine would ever happen to me.”

Kohart said she hopes efforts to address racism will make a difference.

“It would be easier if everyone was a little nicer to each other,” Kohart said.

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