Asian and Black communities aim to work together after high-profile attacks
By Lisa Fernandez
Oakland Chinatown attack. January 2021
OAKLAND, Calif. - Some members of the Asian and Black communities are feeling under siege after a series of high-profile robberies and assaults in Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area, and they re trying to bridge the hurt and work together in the aftermath.
While some Asian Americans are feeling jeopardized by the brutal assaults and thefts, there are Black community members who feel like they’re being racially profiled in the hunt to capture those responsible.
Both communities have been victimized, said Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife, who is Black and whose district includes downtown and West Oakland.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans have been steadily increasing in the COVID-19 pandemic, and saw a sharp uptick in recent weeks. What you can do to help.
A northern California district attorney announced Monday that a new special response unit was created in the wake of recent attacks against Asians, particularly elderly Asians, in Oakland’s Chinatown, as activists have argued that other violence in San Francisco and New York shows a pattern of abuse related to blame placed on the Asian American community for the coronavirus pandemic.
Teenager suspected in killing of 84-year-old S.F. man pleads not guilty
FacebookTwitterEmail
Justin Welter, Anza Vista neighborhood resident, walks along Fortuna Avenue in front of a building, where 84-year old Vicha Ratanapakdee suffered injuries that he later died from. The 19-year-old accused of shoving Ratanapakdee pleaded not guilty to murder and elder abuse charges.Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle
A 19-year-old accused of killing an 84-year-old San Franciscan by pushing him to the pavement as he walked through the city’s Anza Vista neighborhood pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of murder and elder abuse.
Authorities say Antoine Watson of Daly City ran across the street and shoved Vicha Ratanapakdee, who was out for a morning walk on Jan. 28. Ratanapakdee’s head struck the pavement, and officers called to the scene found him collapsed on the sidewalk near Anzavista and Fortuna avenues. They administered first aid before he was taken to the hospital. He died on Saturday.