'Silence is complicity': Sacramento City Council condemns anti-Asian hate, discrimination
Share
Updated: 4:47 PM PST Mar 9, 2021
Daniel Macht
Share
Updated: 4:47 PM PST Mar 9, 2021
Hide Transcript
Show Transcript
TOP STORIES WE HAVE FOR YOU THIS AFTERNOON. EDIE: SACRAMENTO CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A RESOLUTION THAT CONDEMNS ACT OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE AND OTHER FORMS OF RACISM. THE CITY SAYS THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO REPEATED INCIDENTS OF ATTACKS ON ASIAN AMERICANS.
TRACKING THE COVID-19 VACCINE
Share
Updated: 4:47 PM PST Mar 9, 2021
Daniel Macht
The Sacramento City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to condemn hate and discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, following a rise in reported hate incidents across the country and in California. Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang, who introduced the resolution, called it "just the first step in the work that we have ahead."She praised the resolution for acknowledging the "harm and trauma" that such hate has caused members of the Asian community."The hard truth is that there is a painful and racist history in this country and the city towards Asian Americans," she said, citing past immigration bans, denial of property ownership, and the forced removal of families into concentration camps during World War II. Asian American and Pacific Islanders comprise 20% of Sacramento’s more than 513,000 residents, and the city is also home to more than 6,000 AAPI small businesses. The resolution notes a tally by the group Stop AAPI Hate that found more than 2,8000 hate incidents that targeted members of the community from March 2020 through the end of the year. More recently, Sacramento police have been investigating as a hate crime someone having dumped a mutilated body of a cat outside Mad Butcher Meat Company in south Sacramento. Owner Kelly Shum has told KCRA 3 that for the past year she's been harassed and even blamed for the spread of the coronavirus simply because she's Chinese.| Related Video| State lawmakers respond to rise in anti-Asian hate crimesThe resolution cites that incident, as well as the case of a North Sacramento teacher who was recently seen on video pulling her eyes back in a gesture that is offensive toward Asian people. "There are so many more incidents of hate and actions that go unreported," Vang said during Tuesday’s council meeting.She also pointed to the pernicious effect of the "model minority" myth that "masks the disparities of our diverse communities."Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn spoke at the meeting about how his department tracks bias-related incidents. He said that what can be a "despicable and racist" incident may not rise to the level of a crime. Still, he encouraged people to report such incidents to police and "let us figure that out."Hahn said that more than 60 hate or bias-related incidents were reported to the department last year, an increase from the prior year. Those cases comprised 17 incidents against African Americans, 12 against LGBTQ people, nine directed at multi-race groups, and eight incidents against the Asian community. Mayor Darrell Steinberg said during the meeting that "silence is complicity" and that words of "inclusion" are more powerful than hate. The resolution calls for the mayor and council to "work with AAPI community partners in support of data-gathering that is culturally appropriate and to acknowledge the systemic barriers to reporting hate crimes impacting AAPIs."