Today, May 10, is being acknowledged by the City of Richmond as a “Day of Action against Anti-Asian Racism.”
In recent weeks, some Canadian cities have joined a grassroots movement to call for a day of action against racism in response to a Burnaby woman Doris Mah’s efforts to fight against racism during the pandemic.
Rallies have been planned in cities across Metro Vancouver today, including at Richmond-Brighouse Station, to raise awareness of the rise of anti-Asian hate.
May 10 was chosen as the date because this month is also Asian Heritage Month.
The Richmond News reported last month how hate crimes in the city almost doubled from last year, with 21 files in 2020 compared to 11 in 2019.
There were also more “hate incident” files - not considered a criminal code offence - in 2020: 13 were reported to the police while there were only nine in 2019.
“Richmond is a safe and resilient city that stands up against racism and violence at all levels and will not condone or tolerate such behaviour in any way,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
“Our community has a rich history of culture, diversity and heritage and was among the first in Canada to issue a formal statement condemning racism and violence a year ago.”
Richmond city council also adopted and endorsed a statement against racism and violence last May related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement reads, in part, “Richmond does not - and never will - condone or tolerate racist behaviour in any form. Such attitudes and actions do not reflect our community’s cultural diversity or the spirit of inclusion that we are all proud of.”
-With files from Maria Rantanen
