SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While acknowledging anti-Asian racism existed in the city long before the pandemic, a pivotal moment made a Sacramento City Council member decide that there needs to be a government response to the alleged hate crimes.
Last month, a man was caught on camera leaving a box with a dead cat in the parking lot of the Mad Butcher Meats Co., a Chinese-American business. Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang told ABC10 that this incident made her decide the city needs to condemn racism.
"What we need in the city is long-term investment and resources and people to keep them healthy and to keep them safe," Vang said.
The Sacramento City Council passed a resolution Tuesday to condemn discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Vang calls the resolution just the beginning in addressing those communities' trauma.
While many hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported in the Bay Area and New York City, Sacramento also experienced incidents. An Elk Grove Japanese restaurant was vandalized with derogatory language towards Asians and a Grant High School teacher faced backlash for depicting the shapes of eyes of different Asians.
For Vang, the resolution does not address racism towards Asians but how it affects other communities.
"How does white supremacy and racism shows up in our lives, whether you're Asian American Pacific Islander, whether you're Black, whether you are indigenous, Latino," Vang said. "It's incredibly important that all of us stay vigilant to protect and keep our communities safe."
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
