At rally, officials and Asian organizations urge a stop to hate
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Representatives from the Asian American Society of Central Virginia, Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce, Organization of Chinese Americans - Central Virginia Chapter and Korean-American Society of Greater Richmond joined county, state and federal officials in addressing a crowd at the “Stop the Hate Rally” March 23 at Short Pump Park.
The event was designed to mourn the victims of a mass shooting in Atlanta last week, most of whom were Asian, and to reinforce the message that Asian hate crime will not be tolerated in the county.
“Today we come together as one voice – one Henrico. . . to condemn all racism, all bigotry,” County Manager John Vithoulkas said. “We denounce the violence, the hateful speech, the ignorant prejudice. We have no part in it, and we will not tolerate it. Henrico County stands with the Asian community.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Schmitt pledged the county's support for its 30,000 Asian citizens and implored others to do the same.
“I urge us all here, today, tomorrow and in days to come to work harder to know each other, to recognize all that we have in common and find unity in our differences,” Schmitt said. “We must work harder to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In Henrico, we thrive on this diversity. This is our community, and these are our neighbors. This county stands shoulder to shoulder with you in this current moment of reckoning.”
Said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring: "This rise in anti-Asian hate, violence and discrimination has got to stop." He cited "shameful and irresponsible rhetoric" during the past year in light of COVID-19 as being responsible for an increase in racist behavior but also faulted "400 years of white supremacy."
“We don’t want to lose any more Asian blood,” said AASOCV Chair Mahmud Chowdhury. “Virginia has a slogan – Virginia is for lovers. We want to keep that same slogan alive – Virginia is for lovers, Virginia is not for hate, and we don’t want Virginia to be for hate. We are all human beings, and we want to be treated like human beings. We're not saying that we are better than anybody, but also we don't want to be any worse than anybody. We want to be an equal partner to build a better America here."
