Democratic Club Adopts Resolution Condemning Violence Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

BY BRIAN HEWS • March 17, 2021

Cerritos Councilman Frank Yokoyama, Artesia Mayor pro tem Melissa Ramoso, and Matthew Scammahorn recently proposed a Resolution to the Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club, which was adopted at their meeting this past Monday.

The resolution was in response to the racism and violence being perpetrated on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which can be traced to Donald Trump’s constant bashing since the outbreak, which included calling COVID the “China Virus,” and “Kung Flu” and blaming China for the virus, which originated in the Wuhan Wet Market. Just yesterday Trump used the phrases on Maria Batiromo’s Fox “News Show.”

Resolution regarding Xenophobia and Racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:

Whereas, the COVID-19 crisis has led to a drastic increase in anti-Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) attacks across the nation, with over 2,800 attacks since March 2020 being reported by the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center, while also recognizing the California Democratic Party’s commitment to supporting “a just and inclusive society by speaking out with a public and unified voice against all forms of racism, discrimination, harassment, hatred, and violence directed at racial and ethnic minorities”, as stated in the Equality of Rights and Opportunity plank of the California Democratic Party’s 2020 Platform;

Whereas, Asian American Californians, who account for approximately one-third of the nation’s Asian American population, are all vulnerable to the growing number of xenophobia-fueled attacks, which continue to be fueled by former President Trump and his supporters. This is exemplified by a now-broad use of the racist reference to COVID-19 as the “China virus” despite the World Health Organization’s guidelines in disease naming;

Whereas, the history of California and the United States as a whole relating to our Asian
American population is one of discrimination, restriction, and xenophobia, as seen in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II, the formation of the “Asiatic-Barred Zone” in the Immigration Act of 1917, and more;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club denounces the rise in racist acts that strike fear into the hearts of our own communities, as well as the forces which have facilitated that rise, and urges leaders to counter anti-AAPI hate crimes by bringing communities together;

Be it further resolved that the Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club strongly urges the California Democratic Party to adopt this resolution, while calling upon the Biden administration and California elected officials to work with the AAPI community in addressing the rise in anti-AAPI attacks.

Cerritos Councilman Yokoyama told HMG-CN, “From March 19, 2020 to the present, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from all 50 states have experienced racist attacks ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults, from getting coughed on to getting denied services because of their ethnicity. So far, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders reported about 3,800 hate-related attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m outraged and saddened by the alarming rise in hate attacks upon the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community across our country. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are not responsible for the pandemic. We must join together in condemning violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. #StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate.”