You are reading

Candlelight Vigil in Remembrance of Lives Lost to Anti-Asian Violence Tonight in Sunnyside

March 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin

Two Council District 26 candidates are holding a vigil Thursday in remembrance of Asian Americans killed in bias attacks over the past year — including the victims of the Atlanta area shooting Tuesday night.

Julie Won and Steve Raga, two Asian American candidates, are hosting the vigil at Bliss Plaza, located at 46th Street and Queens Boulevard, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Six of the eight victims killed at three Atlanta-area spas Tuesday were Asian American women. Police have released the identities of just four of the victims thus far — Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44.

The vigil is in honor of those victims as well as other Asian Americans recently killed, including Christian Hall who was killed by police in Pennsylvania in December, Tommy Lee who was killed by a police officer in Seattle in 2017, Angelo Quinto who was killed by California police in December and Ee Lee, who was raped and killed by teenagers in Milwaukee park in September.

The suspect in Tuesday’s shooting, a 21-year-old white man, has been charged with eight counts of murder, but the police in Atlanta have yet to classify the mass shooting as a hate crime against Asian Americans.

Won and Raga said the shooting was clearly a hate crime against the Asian community and must be recognized as such.

Raga says “Racism impacts all our marginalized communities and the rise in violence against Asian Americans shows that hate is prevailing during this difficult time for our city and country.”

“This violent act towards Asian women needs to be fully recognized as a hate crime and cannot be reduced to a single, isolated incident,” Raga said. “Asian Americans deserve to be safe in their communities, they deserve to be safe on public transit, and they deserve to be safe at work – no matter their industry. We deserve to not live in fear.”

The murders come after a year of increased attacks against the Asian community in the U.S. — triggered by misinformation and stigma surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If you are questioning whether these attacks were hate crimes, you are abetting white supremacy,” she said. “If you are questioning these women’s professions, you are abetting white supremacy. If you are arguing that more cops and more incarceration will keep us safe, you are abetting white supremacy.”

“And as long as white supremacy rears its ugly head, we will have no home here…” Won added.
“Each and every one of us deserves to call this country our home.”

She said she will continue to speak out in the names of the shooting victims.

“Amidst the grief and the anger, it is hard to find words fit to address an unspeakable tragedy,” Won said. “But in the names of Xiaojie, Ashley, Daoyou, and so many more: we speak up and we fight on.”

A Council District 25 candidate, Shekar Krishnan, hosted a candlelit vigil for the victims last night as well.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca, legendary St. John’s basketball coach, dies at 99

The St. John’s University community will gather to mourn legendary basketball coach Lou Carnesecca on the Hillcrest campus he loved with all of his heart Friday morning for his Funeral Mass at St. Thomas More Church, where he will be remembered not just for building a dynamic program, but for the way he did it. The beloved coach died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on Saturday, Nov. 30, at age 99 and just five weeks shy of his 100th birthday.

“Throughout his long life, Coach Carnesecca represented St. John’s with savvy, humility, smarts, tenacity, wit, integrity and grace,” SJU President Rev. Brian Shanley said. “He was the public face of our University, and he embodied the values of our Catholic and Vincentian mission. We thank God for his legacy.”

Forest Hills homeowners group threatens legal action against NYPD amid ongoing Forest Hills Stadium concert dispute

Dec. 4, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

The operators of Forest Hills Stadium have accused the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation (FHGC), a neighboring homeowners association, of “sidestepping” the courts and trying to “bully” the NYPD. The accusation follows a letter from FHGC to the NYPD threatening legal action if police continue to issue permits for the stadium’s 2025 concert season.