Hundreds Attend NYC Vigil Honoring Atlanta Victims, Denounce Anti-Asian Racism
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Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered Friday evening to mourn the eight lives lost in shootings targeting Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta.
Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered Friday evening to mourn the eight lives lost in shootings targeting Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta and to call for an end to the hate and violence deployed against Asian-Americans.
"We are standing together because we are sad, we are angry, we are exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions we've all been dealing with," one of the vigil's speakers said.
Community leaders and lawmakers joined the hundreds at the evening vigil in Union Square, led by the Asian American Federation. Similar rallies are planned later in the weekend in Queens and Manhattan.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were some of the many speakers at the evening vigil; mayoral candidate Andrew Yang was also in attendance.
"We know that violence and bigotry against one is violence and bigotry against all," Schumer said.
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People participate in a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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A person holds a sign with the names of the people who died at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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Demonstrators attend a vigil to mourn the Atlanta shooting victims at Union Square in New York, the United States, March 19, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned anti-Asian violence in the country on Friday, warning against silence and complicity in the aftermath of shootings this week in Atlanta, Georgia, in which eight people, including six Asian women, were killed. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/Michael Nagle via Getty Images)
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New Yorkers gather in Union Square, New York, on March 19, 2021 for a vigil to mourn the lives lost in a shooting in Atlanta earlier in the week. A gunman in Atlanta targeted three Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta Georgia, eight people, six of them Asians. (Photo by Ed Ou for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Candles are lit at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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A person holds a sign with the names of the people who died at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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A person lights candles during a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Nationwide outrage and demands for change have followed the Tuesday mass shooting that took eight lives, including six Asian women, at three spas in the Atlanta area.
In the past year there have been nearly 3,800 attacks on Asians in the U.S., that's according to Stop AAPI Hate. In New York City, the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force has investigated 10 cases of hate crimes against Asians since Jan. 1.
Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Atlanta-area legislators and community leaders before speaking to the nation in a Friday evening address.
Biden called on all Americans to stand up to bigotry when they see it, adding: “Our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit.”
“They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed; they’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed," Biden said of Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Saturday, Safe Walks has planned a march from Times Square to Chinatown at 3 p.m. in solidarity with the Asian-American community. Shortly after that, another candle light vigil is planned in Sunset Park for 4:30 p.m. and a solidarity rally is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in Flushing, Queens at Bowne Playground.
This week's deadly spa shootings and Congressional hearing have put a new focus on a recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
