KFI News Presents: Stopping The Hate, an in-depth look at the state of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County and what local organizations and city officials are doing to raise awareness.
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House May 18 afternoon passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which mandates a review of hate crimes committed during the pandemic by the Justice Department âincluding expedited procedures for processing cases â and more resources for hate crimes reporting and assistance for victims of hate crimes.
The bill defines a COVID-19 hate crime as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: the actual or perceived characteristic of a person, including race, and the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic.
The bill would also encourage more reporting of incidents in multiple languages, and help make different communities feel more empowered to come forward and report hate incidents. It would also direct federal agencies to work with community-based organizations to raise awareness of hate crimes.
Updated on May 15, 2021 at 10:30 pm
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We are in a place that documents how far AAPI hate can go, from the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II simply because of their ancestry. Ted Chen hosts a panel, opening up the floor to the AAPI community.
Manju you’ve been keeping track of the numbers of these hate incidents, and they keep going up. Tell us what the trends are right now and what are the reasons you believe they are going up? Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get the latest breaking news and local stories.
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More than 2,800 anti-Asian incidents the largest share coming out of California have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate since six women of Asian descent in the Atlanta area were killed in a mass shooting in March.
That brings the total number of hate incidents nationwide recorded by the group since its founding in March 2020 to 6,603.
L.A.-based co-founder Manju Kulkarni said that incidents continue unabated and that part of the surge in reporting can be attributed to growing awareness about Stop AAPI Hate. The group’s work has been frequently referenced in stories about the Atlanta shooting and anti-Asian attacks.
Efficacy, Equity Emphasized in Vaccine Rollout
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By GWEN MURANAKA, Rafu Senior Editor
Bill Watanabe has two very precious reasons for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. During a press conference on Tuesday, the former executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center shared his vaccine experience.
“My mother-in-law lives with us, she’s 105 years old and I just became a grandfather. Our daughter is very cautious, wanted to make sure we didn’t pass it on to her, so we were very happy we got the vaccine.”
Sue Tsushima cradles her great-grandchild Micah Chang. Bill Watanabe said protecting loved ones was one of the main reasons he got vaccinated. (Photo courtesy of Bill Watanabe)