Runners Lace Up Against Asian Hate Along Boston Marathon Route

BROOKLINE, MA — On Saturday, organizers expect around 200 people to line the length of the Boston Marathon route in a show of solidarity for the Asian community.

"The purpose of the event is to show solidarity in wake of deadly Atlanta shootings, to mourn the loss of eight lives including six Asian women, to condemn acts of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and to display unity, resilience, and strength of the Asian American community," the New England Chinese American Alliance, a co-organizer based in Waltham, said in a statement.

The mass shootings in Georgia on March 16, sparked demonstrations and vigils across the country in a show of solidarity for Asian communities and against the racism those communities have felt in the past year.

Crime statistics in America's largest cities that point to a nearly 150 percent increase in reported Anti-Asian hate crime incidents this year over last year, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, CSUSB.

Boston alone reported 170 hate crimes in 2019; in 2020 those actually went down to 146. However, the number of reports of hate crime incidents classified as anti-Asian jumped from just six to 14 reported incidents, according to the study.

The alliance, along with organizations across the communities along the Boston Marathon route and beyond will line the route, holding signs on the sidewalk cheering on four teams of runners.

Runners will set out at 10:30 a.m. from Hopkinton, Framingham, Lexington and Newton along the marathon at the same time to run a little more than 6 miles of the marathon.

Organizers will hold commemorative ceremonies will be held in Hopkinton and the Boston Common where the run starts and finishes.

The schedule:

10 a.m.-10:30 Hopkinton memorial ceremony
10 a.m.-11:20 Sign-holding along the Boston Marathon route
10:30-11:20 Start from Hopkinton, Framingham, Lexington and Wellesley/Newton
11:20 Runners arrive at Boston Common, then run one lap around the field.
11:30-12:00 Boston Common memorial ceremony.

Some of the local organizations committed to participating:

Belmont Chinese American Association, Chinese American Association of Lexington, Chinese American Network of Winchester, Wellesley Chinese Language School, Chinese American Association of Newton, Brookline Chinese School, New Legacy Cultural Center, WeStar, Tsinghua Alumni Association at Greater Boston.