Educate people. You know, rather than fighting and yelling and hating, its more important to love, care and support. Were trying to really make a difference and create the foundation i mentioned before to stop all these racisms and xenophobias going on. It requires every one of us to reach deep and show care not only for our own family and our own neighbors and friends, but for the broader community. Thats how we get through this pandemic. Thats how we come out on the other side a stronger community. Abc7 presents race and coronavirus a bay ara conversation. And with that backdrop, a good afternoon. Really glad you are with us. Im dan ashley. And im kristen sze. Thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of abc7 news. Instead of our normal 4 00 p. M. Newscast, today were going spend an hour engaging experts and you, our viewers in a virtual town hall on the issue of race and coronavirus. You know, this is a vitally important onehour virtual town hall erring on television here and on abc7news. Com and facebook. Over the next hour, were going have a frank conversation, an important, honest conversation with a panel of experts and questions from you watching us right now. We want to hear from you about how the virus should not lead us to hate, no matter who you are. We will strive to understand where the disconnect, and well talk about how we can all do better. So lets begin our Coverage Today with a look at the issue. Abc7 news anchor dion lim is live at the social desk in the newsroom with a look at reports of coronavirusrelated discrimination toward the chinese and Asian American communities. Dion . Yeah, kristen, in order to really understand the issue of race and coronavirus, we need to hear from the victims. Hundreds have submitted their stories online, but very few wanted to actually go on camera because they are afraid. So we asked one man to read their stories and be their voice. We do have a warning, though, because these are raw, emotional experiences that paint a clear picture of whats happening in the bay area today. Were also hearing what leaders and a new generation of uprisers are doing to fight the discrimination. Rupert stanislaw, poet, filipino immigrant. I was standing in line for coffee. And due to allergies, i sneezed into my shirt. A man who was three or four people behind me in line gets in my face, points directly at my face and says we dont want your disgusting corona disease, you dark chinese kung few wannabe. You chinese bring this virus here, you should go back home. Go back to [ bleep ] china. I need to leave this country, that im disgusting and dont look at him or hell kill me. These stories are real. Theyre just a tiny fraction of the more than 1200 fisthand accounts of Asian Americans across the country, more than a third from right here in the bay area, who have shared their experiences with coronavirusrelated racism in the past two weeks. Through stop Asian AmericanPacific Islander hate center and online reporting portal set up by San Francisco state universitys Asian Studies department, chinese for affirmative action and other civil rights groups. Waiting to enter walgreens to get a prescription, a group of construction workers not doing social distancing made fun of the situation by mocking me, faking coughing, spitting and making slanteyed gestures until i told them to cut it out. As the virus, first reported in wuhan, china, began to spread around the globe i would like providing an update on providing what were going with our students. So did the hate. The fbi warning americans to brace themselves for an onslaught of hate crimes against asians. I was walking with my wife in our neighborhood when a car drove by and someone with a bullhorn yelled at us something unintelligible, expect we would make out [ bleep ] virus. This didnt begin with covid19, but has been deeply rooted in american history. Starting during the gold rush whereby 1850 there were laws like the exclusion act, banning the chinese from emigrating to the United States, and more. Fast forward to today, a new generation of Asian Americans are taking up the fight against discrimination. Back 10, 15 years ago, we didnt have the four do this. But now we can use the power of social media to really fight back and create awareness and really call people out that and set an example. That sentiment prompted celebrities and instagram influencers like asians never die, asians with attitudes, a and david of the account jackfroot to use their platforms for the greater good. We discussed with all this racism and all this news on racism. So we knew in our hearts that we couldnt let it slide. We decide to use our platform for change. That change is also coming from lawmakers. Assembly member phil ting sent this letter to gavin newsom asking xenophobia be denounced. Both the mayor and london breed took action. With a whopping of 47 of racially charged incidents reported by the stop aapi hate center happening in the workplace, Community Groups and businesses are collaborating to make a statement. The founder of nonprofit better brave which combats workplace harassment and discrimination teamed up with socially conscious fashion brand uprisers and the wildly popular Facebook CommunityAsian Hustle Network to start the hate is a my grandmother, who i love so dearly, she emigrated when she was 21. So she has been here for a while. When i told her about what this movement meant for us and what were trying to do, i dont think she understands the digital impact, like the virtual impact that can happen. She cant wrap her head around that. But at the same time she was like whats the point of doing this . Why do you need the create chaos . And grandma, were not creating chaos. Were trying to create change. The campaigns founder say asianowned businesses are reporting an 80 drop in revenue due to xenophobia fueled by covid19. The goal of hateisisvirus is not only to educate, but to raise one million with the hope of keeping those businesses afloat. We unite with each other to really push through and stick together, fighting racism, and really support our communities right now. Now is one of the most crucial times for us to stick together. Its not just groups of asians coming together to shed light on racism in america today. This week, leaders from the congressional hispanic, black, and asian caucuses came together to condemn the racism. Aimee allison, founder of she the people, an organization dedicated to elevating the voices of women of color say the path of true acceptance must spread across ethnic backgrounds. Were in a point in our lives where many people are concerned first about food and shelter, the basics. Were concerned about our friends and our families. But were also being called to show personal courage to uphold fundamental values of fairness and protection for our communities. Back out here live, you know, some of those stories, they gave me chills, but then all of the efforts that brings me hope and a lot of joy. So we, of course, want you to join in on the conversation today. Ill be here at the social desk, reading through all of your comments and questions on facebook and twitter. Also, to join in on our interactive town hall, you can go to abc7 news bay areas Facebook Page and share your questions and comments throughout the hour today. All right, dion, thanks for sharing all that history. A lot to unpack there. The Southern Poverty Law Center has pointed to president trumps repeated reference to the virus for, quote, creating a climate of hate that is permeating the country and putting people at risk. On march 17th, the president defended his use of the term chinese virus to abc News Reporter cecilia vega. Why do you keep using this . Its not racist at all, no, not at all. It comes from china. Thats all. I want to be accurate. John, please . Are you comfortable i have great love for all of the people from our country. But as you know, china tried to say at one point, maybe they stopped now, that it was caused by american soldiers. That cant happen. Its not going to happen. Not as long as im president. It comes from china. You can see the president even crossed out the word corona and replaced wit chinese in this image, taken by a Washington Post photographer of his speech text. But while this week the president has referred to it as the coronavirus, he has not apologized to the community. He tweets it is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States and all around the world. They are amazing people, and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. We will prevail together. So what is in a name . Previous pandemics and outbreaks have taken on the names of places, but doing so as consequences. Experts say naming Novel Coronavirus the chinese virus isnt just wrong, it also jeopardizes the safety of asians here in the bay area and around the globe. The first case of Novel Coronavirus was reported in wuhan, china in december 2019. Those early cases have been linked to a live animal market in wuhan, and has since spread person to person. The virus has since spread around the globe, First Showing up in the United States on january 2nd, 2020 in snohomish county, washington. Its called covid19. It is not called the china virus, the chinese virus or the wuhan virus. Dr. Alok patel is part of abc7s team of coronavirus experts. We asked him to break down the name of the virus to help us better understand where the name really comes from. Some people have assumed the c in covid19 means it came from china. No. The c stands for coronavirus. Here is the thing. The virus doesnt discriminate or differentiate based on race or ethnicity or where you come from. So we shouldnt either. The corona in coronavirus actually comes from what the virus looks like. Under a microscope, the virus has these little proteins that stick out of it, and it kind of looks like the crown of the sun, the crone. That. The Novel Coronavirus is the name of the virus. The disease it causes is called covid19. Co, corona, vi, virus, d, disease, 19, 2019 there you have it. Viruss are often given common names, but they come with stigma and potential consequences there was the swine flu in 2009 that started in the u. S. And mad cow disease in the united kingdom. Both impacted the sales of pork and beef. The asian flu in 1957, the hong kong flu in 68, ebola, named for the ebola river in africa, middle east respiratory syndrome, mers was first reported in 2012 in saudi arabia. Sometimes the name gets it wrong. The spanish flu killed at least 50 Million People in 1918. Scientists now believe it actually started in kansas, but got its name from the huge number of people in spain who died from the flu strain. We never called it 2015 Measles Outbreak the Southern California unvaccinated virus. That wouldnt have been appropriate. Thats why the world health organization, Top Health Experts with the centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of health are urging people to use the correct name for this pandemic, covid19. But heres the thing. We live in a different time now. And people can say all they want, hey, in the past, they named these viruses after geographical locations. What well say back to them is yes, but with outbreaks in this world, we see associated racism, ad we see associated prejudice. So why dont we learn from the past and why dont we set a new standard and actually get everyone on board with a more specific process. And thats called calling the virus by its actual scientific name, sars co2 and calling the virus covid19. Whats in a name, right . There are a lot of angles and issues to discuss with our live panel. We have gathered together really an impressive and insightful group for you. We sure have. Joining us are aimee allison, founder of she the people. Zara ballew, executive director of care in the San Francisco area. Peter chin hong, professor of medicine and Infectious Disease specialist from ucsf. Cynthia che, coe executive director for chinese for executive action. Russell jung, professor of Asian American studies, college of ethnic studies at San Francisco state university. Assemblyman evan lowe, who represents the south bay and silicon valley. Actor ty ma. Jacqueline marcel with the Latino Community foundation. Registered nurse kyle navarro from San Francisco. Instagram influencer jackfroot. Paul zaffo. And jeff rosen, Santa Clara CountyDistrict Attorney. Lets start with russell jung. You lead the stop hate online reporting center. So what do the latest numbers show us about hostilities against asians locally and across the country. Russell . Hostility is pervasive and growing. Weve received over 1100 cases of antiasian coronavirus discrimination in just the last two weeks, without even advertising or publicizing the site. Asian americans are experiencing harrowing incidents of being yelled at, shunned and even physically attacked. Whats striking is a lot of times people are being spat and coughed upon. So it has a sort of Public Health threat as well. Okay, russell, thank you. There have been so many instances like this of people spitting and attacking and saying horrible things. Lets turn to paul sappho next. You study society, paul. Its so fascinating about the nature of human behavior. What is it about the pandemic that brings out and magnifies our send stendency to blame certain groups. This goes way back. We have to recognize the current bias is the result of a mal adaptation of a evolutionary group. We are wired to be pattern seekers. It means were finely tuned to detect patterns as a cognitive shorthand. Each one of us is here today because were the latest in an unbroken line of ancestors who were good enough at pattern detection to avoid being eaten or poisoned or beset by some other catastrophe before they reproduced. Red berries . Watch out. Shadow in the forest . Might be a predator. But the same quality today has become a liability that leads us to see patterns where there arent any. Faces in clouds, outlines of the virgin on burnt toast, and also causes and relationships with the other when there are none. In some ways, paul, it sounds like the solution is we have to observe our bias. Dont pretend we dont have it. Were all wired to be biased. Okay. But observe it and create a cognitive break when we see it. Okay, thank you, paul, very much. We are hardwired it seems. Yep. We will have much more still ahead, continue the conversation, including we have messages from leader, celebrities, and influencers direct to you, next. And we want you to join in this conversation and be part of this town hall too. Its for you. Thats why were doing this. Go to facebook to weigh in and interact in todays virtual town hall race and coronavirus, a bay area conversation continues. The best way to predict the future is to create it and change the world. Here at abbvie, were inventing medicines of the future to create tomorrows that will be healthier. And happier, while making medicines that help people right now. Because thats the present we wanted to live in. And thats the future we all want to see. Abbvie. Here. Now. No, because on a sandwich,t no they ask you if you want cheese. Abbvie. But on a papadia, cheese is whats holding the whole operation together. Get one now for just six bucks. Better ingredients. Better pizza. Better than a sandwich. Papa johns. Weve worked to provide you with the financial strength, stability, and online tools you need. And now its no different. Because helping you through this crisis is what were made for. And welcome back. Were back live with our hourlong virtual town hall on race and coronavirus. Yeah, the issue of antiasian discrimination has affected people at all levels, including celebrities who are sharing their messages on social media. Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against asian people. Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking, and its inexcusable. Yes, im asian. And yes, i have coronavirus. But i did not get it from china. I got it in america, in new york city. And despite what certain political leaders want to call it, i dont consider the place where its from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If i did, i would call this thing the new york virus. But that would be silly, right . Any way, the point is the namecalling gets us nowhere. When people are ill, what matter most is how best to take care of ourselves and one another. Well said. Now actress and comedian comedin awkwafina posted this, i am saddened about the rhetoric that has come out of this and the cruelty what has resulted. I hope while we isolate and social distance to stay safe, i hope we also stay sane and calm. One of our guests today is ty ma, in mulan. The release date has been pushed back due the pandemic. Ty, welcome. You are one of the celebrities in the wash the hate campaign. Why did you participate . Was there a personal experience . Yeah. I was doing my shopping in my local Grocery Store, whole foods in pasadena, and i parked my car. Another car was turning the corner, rolling really slowly. I thought he was being courteous so i can kind of walk past. But he didnt stop. He kind of slowed down, rolled down his window at the same time, and looked at me straight in the eyes and said you should be quarantined. And he took off. And at that moment i was just kind of frozen in time.