On March 16, Stand with Asian Americans held a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta shootings. From 6:30pm to 8:00pm, more than 1,000 attendees gathered in Times Square to remember the victims and call for change. The event was part of a nationwide series of rallies held in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Sacramento, San Francisco, Twin Cities, and Washington, D.C.
AABANY intern Han Wen Zhang participated as the New York City livestreamer. The livestreams from each city were woven into a national 12-hour webcast titled Break the Silence: Justice for Asian Women. The program featured speeches from community leaders, government officials, and training videos on personal safety and bystander intervention.
The New York City rally included a lineup of speakers and performers, including Executive Director of the Asian American Federation Jo-Ann Yoo, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Min Jin Lee, Governor Kathy Hochul, Chinese American rapper Bohan Phoenix and actor and musician Perry Yung.
Attendees and passersby were given colorful posters based on Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s public art series “We Are More.” Event organizers also passed out yellow whistles, with “We Belong” inscribed on one side. To learn more about this event, please visit https://www.asianjusticemovement.org/awr.
