THE ISSUE
As LNP | LancasterOnlineâs Aniya Thomas reports in todayâs edition, a rally and candlelight vigil will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday in Penn Square in downtown Lancaster to show support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the face of a growing tide of hateful attacks against them. âMore than 6,600 hate incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic through March 31,â Thomas reported. Rally organizer Julia Cao said Saturdayâs event will include speakers from organizations such as Church World Service, the Lancaster Interfaith Coalition and YWCA Lancaster.
Stop AAPI Hate is a national coalition that addresses anti-Asian racism across the United States.
A Lancaster city woman is calling attention to the alarming trend by organizing a rally and vigil to support the local Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
âAsians only make up about 2% of the current demographic in Lancaster (County),â said Julia Cao, who is Vietnamese. âBeing Asian is the very broad sense of who we are. We need someone to give us that opportunity, that voice. And this is one way of doing it.â
The rally and candlelight vigil will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday at Penn Square in downtown Lancaster.