Love Your Neighbor, Stop Asian Hate: Congresswomen Band Together

SEAL BEACH, CA — Just one week ago, a Seal Beach woman who lost her husband was the target of anti-Asian Amerian sentiments. On Monday, Rep. Michelle Steel and hundreds of Leisure World residents gathered in support of Yong Choi.

Choi, who lost her husband, received a hand-written letter voicing hatred in all of its ugliness. The Seal Beach Police Department is investigating that letter.

The community rallied around the Choi family, whose experience only highlights the ongoing anti-Asian American hate crimes and discrimination across the country," Steel said. Leisureworld is home to 1,000 Korean Americans, many of whom are no strangers to racism.

Steel spoke Monday, sharing the goals of their rally.

“We have to support each other, not hate each other. Hate is not acceptable," she said. "Let’s raise our voices and stop hate crimes all over America. We really have to speak up and I’m glad that everybody joined today."

Since last March, the group Stop AAPI Hate has recorded nearly 4,000 hate incidents against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Of those incidents, 45% occurred in California.

In February, Steel and fellow Rep. Katie Porter led a resolution condemning the rise in hate crimes committed against the AAPI community.

Porter described her feelings on the rise in racism to this point.

"I’m enraged by the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the pandemic, including by 1,200% in Orange County," Porter tells Patch. "Asian Americans have been abused with racial slurs. They’ve had rocks thrown at their houses. And while these attacks disproportionately hurt Asian Americans, they undermine us all. We are blessed in Orange County to be enriched by the third-largest Asian American population in the country. Hate has absolutely no place here, and it is on all of us to denounce racism, combat disinformation, and pursue justice in solidarity with the AAPI community.”

Steel described the resolution that she and Porter are backing.

"The resolution also calls on federal law enforcement to work with state and local officials to investigate all reports of AAPI hate crimes, work to improve the reporting of these crimes, and to hold the perpetrators of crimes, incidents or threats accountable and to bring them to justice," a spokesperson for Steel says.

You can view the bipartisan resolution here.

In early March, Steel testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee to hear on discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. The hearing, held in the committee’s Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee, examined the history of anti-Asian American discrimination and violence and highlighted many of the recent horrible attacks seen across the country against members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Rep. Steel joined Reps. Young Kim (CA-39), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Judy Chu (CA-27), Grace Meng (NY-06) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on the first panel of witnesses.

Read:

Hate Crime Against Asian Americans Investigated In Seal Beach