The BulleTin • Monday, March 22, 2021 A3
TODAY
STATE & NATION
‘I belong here’: Rallies denounce
violence against Asian Americans
By The Oregonian and The Associated Press
A diverse crowd gathered Saturday
near the Georgia state Capitol in At-
lanta to demand justice for the victims
of recent shootings at massage busi-
nesses and to denounce racism, xeno-
phobia and misogyny. Similar rallies
were held from coast to coast.
In San Francisco, hundreds gathered
in Portsmouth Square, in the middle of
Chinatown, to grieve the victims and
to call for an end to racist and sexist vi-
olence against Asian Americans. The
participants waved signs reading “stop
Asian hate.”
And in Portland, about 200 people
gathered Saturday evening along the wa-
terfront, holding up candles and signs
during a vigil honoring the victims.
“We are here just to show our unity
and to tell the world that we are part of
America, we are not a target to be dis-
criminated against,” said Liying Zheng,
president of the Vancouver Chinese As-
sociation.
The event along Tom McCall Wa-
terfront Park was organized by various
Asian American organizations in Ore-
gon as part of a nationwide night of vigils
planned by United Chinese Americans,
a national advocacy group for Chinese
Americans. Volunteers from the Chi-
nese Friendship Association of Portland
handed out candles to attendees.
Ai Fen, 46, said she’s not the type of
person who usually attends these kinds
of events, but she wanted to show up
and be counted among those who are
publicly decrying violence against Asian
Americans. “We need to learn how to
stand up and speak out,” Fen said in
Chinese. “We need to show that Asian
people can’t be treated badly like this.”
Hyun-joo Oh, who is Korean Amer-
ican, said she came to “help us be more
visible.”
“I think it’s time for change for us to
stand up and show up more for one an-
other because sometimes we’re scared,
so we hide away,” Oh said.
A slate of Oregon leaders spoke at the
event, including Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum, state Rep. Khanh Pham,
an Asian American legislator who rep-
resents Portland’s Jade District, Mult-
nomah County Commissioner Lori
Stegmann and Christine Ryan Chin,
president of the National Organization
for Women Oregon.
Rosenblum urged those in atten-
dance to use and spread awareness of
the state’s bias crime hotline.
‘We see you’
In Atlanta, they cheered U.S. Sens.
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and
Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen, the first
Vietnamese American to serve in the
Georgia House.
“I just wanted to drop by to say to my
Asian sisters and brothers, we see you,
and, more importantly, we are going to
stand with you,” Warnock said to loud
cheersas passing drivers honked car
horns in support.
Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old
white man, is accused of killing four
people inside two Atlanta spas and
four others at a massage business about
30 miles away in suburban Cherokee
County. Six of the eight people killed
Tuesday were women of Asian descent.
Another person was shot but survived.
Investigators have said Long con-
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
People gather for a “Stop Asian Hate” candlelight vigil at Waterfront Park in Portland on Saturday.
Kate Brumback/AP
A crowd, numbering about 200 people, gathers for the vigil in Portland on Saturday.
Camden Hunt poses for a picture at a rally
in Atlanta on Saturday. Hunt said she came
to the rally to “show Black and Asian sol-
idarity.” Her sign reads “End AAPI Hate,”
referring to Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders.
fessed to the slayings but said they
weren’t racially motivated. He claimed
to have a sex addiction, which caused
him to lash out at what he saw as
sources of temptation, according to au-
thorities. Police have said they’re still
working to establish a motive, including
looking into whether the attacks can be
classified as hate crimes. Georgia law-
makers last year passed a hate crimes
law allowing additional penalties for
certain offenses when motivated by a
victim’s race, color, religion, national or-
igin, sex, sexual orientation, gender or
disability. A hate crime is not a stand-
alone crime under Georgia law, but can
be used to add time to a sentence of
someone convicted of another crime.
“No matter how you want to spin it,
the facts remain the same. This was an
attack on the Asian community,” said
Nguyen, an advocate for women and
munity organizing, last summer pull-
ing together an event to support Black
women victimized by police violence.
Hunt joined Saturday’s rally to “show
Black and Asian solidarity, ” adding “I
think it’s amazing. I look out and I see
people of all shades and ages and back-
grounds.”
In Pittsburgh, hundreds also ral-
lied, and videos posted to social media
showed former “Grey’s Anatomy” ac-
tress and Golden Globe Award winner
Sandra Oh speaking to the crowd.
“I will challenge everyone here … If
you see one of our sisters and brothers
in need, will you help us?” she said, later
yelling into a megaphone: “I am proud
to be Asian! I belong here!”
In Chicago, about 300 people gath-
ered and in New York City, hundreds
marched from Times Square to China-
town, news outlets reported.
The Oregonian
communities of color. She noted the
shooter targeted businesses operated by
women of Asian descent.
“Let’s join hands with our ally com-
munity and demand justice for not only
these victims but for all victims of white
supremacy,” she said.
A couple hundred people gathered
in a separate Atlanta park and marched
through the streets to join the larger
rally, chanting “Stop Asian hate” and
“We are what America looks like.”
Solidarity
Camden Hunt, a 28-year-old Black
woman, said she first got involved in
activism in her native Baltimore. She at-
tended protests over the death of Fred-
die Gray, a Black man who suffered a
broken neck in police custody in Bal-
timore in 2015. She moved to Atlanta
four years ago and got involved in com-
Today is Monday, March 22, the
81st day of 2021. There are 284
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
On March 22, 1941, the Grand
Coulee hydroelectric dam in
Washington state officially went
into operation.
In 1820, U.S. naval hero Stephen
Decatur was killed in a duel with
Commodore James Barron near
Washington, D.C.
In 1882, President Chester A.
Arthur signed a measure out-
lawing polygamy.
In 1894, hockey’s first Stanley
Cup championship game was
played; home team Montreal
defeated Ottawa, 3-1.
In 1945, the Arab League was
formed with the adoption of a
charter in Cairo, Egypt.
In 1976, principal photography
for the first “Star Wars” movie,
directed by George Lucas, be-
gan in Tunisia.
In 1987, a garbage barge, car-
rying 3,200 tons of refuse, left
Islip, New York, on a six-month
journey in search of a place to
unload. (The barge was turned
away by several states and three
other countries until space was
found back in Islip.)
In 1991, high school instructor
Pamela Smart, accused of re-
cruiting her teenage lover and
his friends to kill her husband,
Gregory, was convicted in New
Hampshire of murder-conspir-
acy and being an accomplice to
murder and was sentenced to
life in prison without parole.
In 1993, Intel Corp. unveiled the
original Pentium computer chip.
In 1997, Tara Lipinski, at age 14
years and 10 months, became
the youngest ladies’ world
figure skating champion in Laus-
anne, Switzerland.
In 2010, Google Inc. stopped
censoring the internet for China
by shifting its search engine off
the mainland to Hong Kong.
In 2019, special counsel Robert
Mueller closed his Russia inves-
tigation with no new charges,
delivering his final report to Jus-
tice Department officials. Jimmy
Carter became the longest-living
president in U.S. history; at 94
years and 172 days, he exceeded
the lifespan of George H.W. Bush.
Ten years ago: NFL owners
meeting in New Orleans voted to
make all scoring plays reviewable
by the replay official and referee;
also, kickoffs would be moved up
5 yards to the 35-yard line.
Five years ago: Capping a re-
markable visit to Cuba, President
Barack Obama sat beside Pres-
ident Raul Castro at a baseball
game between Cuba’s national
team and the Tampa Bay Rays
(the Rays won, 4-1). Rob Ford,
the troubled former mayor of
Toronto, died at age 46.
One year ago: New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo ordered all
nonessential businesses in the
state to close and nonessential
workers to stay home.
Today’s Birthdays: Compos-
er-lyricist Stephen Sondheim
is 91. Evangelist broadcaster
Pat Robertson is 91. Actor
William Shatner is 90. Former
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is 87.
Actor-singer Jeremy Clyde is 80.
Singer-guitarist George Benson
is 78. Writer James Patterson is
74. CNN newscaster Wolf Blitzer
is 73. Composer Andrew Lloyd
Webber is 73. Sportscaster Bob
Costas is 69. Actor-comedian
Keegan-Michael Key is 50. Actor
Guillermo Diaz is 46. Actor Reese
Witherspoon is 45. Rock musi-
cian John Otto (Limp Bizkit) is
44. Actor James Wolk is 36.
— Associated Press