'Spread More Love': Peninsula March Stands Up To Anti-Asian Hate

BURLINGAME, CA — A solidarity march from Hillsborough to Burlingame to stand up to Asian American Pacific Islander hate drew nearly 1,000 people on Sunday, according to organizers.

The family-friendly event, which was organized by five mothers and Peninsula residents, saw a large turnout from people of all ages and several community leaders.

“Seeing our community come together is a testament to how powerful we are when we collectively make our voices heard,” said Sophie Kwon, one of the organizers.

Another organizer, Susan Shih, said she was “blown away” by the support.

“I feel that we made a difference and were able to reach out to a lot of people who weren’t aware about what’s been going on,” Shih said.

The march went from Hillsborough Town Hall to Burlingame City Hall, and speakers at the rally included former Survivor winner and current tech leader Yul Kwon and Hillsborough city council members Marie Chuang and Sophie Cole.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in hate crimes targeting Asians, including countless documented attacks against older Asian people in the Bay Area. The Stop AAPI Hate organization reported more than 3,700 incidents of anti-Asian hate in the country since the pandemic began.

The spike in hate incidents has garnered rallies, marches and other campaigns locally and around the country. Earlier this week, a group of prominent Asian American business leaders signed on to the “Stand With Asian Americans" pledge, a campaign that was spurred by the mass murder last month at three Atlanta spas that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

The rally was a uniting event, organizers said, which started with the playing of the national anthem.

“Many of us are children of immigrants and were born here,” said Catherine Dao, an organizer. “Others are naturalized citizens who came to America because we believe in the values of America. We are Americans and we rallied because we want to make this a better country for everyone.”

Organizers believe they were able to uplift the community and inspiring action.

“We achieved our goal to bring the community together to feel less dismay and more hope, to leave as proud Americans, and be inspired to have new conversations,” said Natalie Louie, an organizer. “That’ll lead to more action, to eventually stop the hate and spread more love.”