Hundreds Gather In Basking Ridge To Condemn Anti-Asian Violence

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — In the wake of the Atlanta-area shootings that killed eight, including six Asian Americans, the Ridge Chinese Culture Club had some heartfelt conversations. They found their experiences put them on similar paths.

"While listening to members’ stories, I was surprised about how similar many of us were," club President Lawrence Han told a crowd of hundreds. " Many of us initially felt different from others when we were young due to our Asian backgrounds. And we tried to assimilate for our white peers. However, our mindsets started to shift as we grew up."

Speakers shared different experiences and messages at the Rally to Condemn Violence Against Asian Americans on Saturday in downtown Basking Ridge. Officials, student leaders and community came together to speak up against racism amid a rise in attacks against Asians.

Public officials who spoke included local and county government officials, Congressmen Tom Malinowski and Somerset County Sheriff Darrin Russo. The Basking Ridge Chinese American Community hosted the rally.

A masked-up, multiracial crowd of all generations gathered to support and chant. Some of the signs read "we are American too," "united against hate," "not your 'model' minority," "hate is a virus" and "we support our Asian neighbors."

Behind speakers, a painting hung with the victims of Atlanta shooting. Lost in much of the reporting on the killings is a focus on the shooter instead of the victims: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Paul Andre Michels.

"Many historians have pointed out that this is not unprecedented," said Wendy Wu, founder of youth organization IMPACT and president of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association. "After all, we’ve had the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese internment camps. And the hyper-sexualization of Asian women was already a well-established part of American culture, even before it resulted in the murder of eight people in Atlanta."

The Chinese Exclusion Act — signed into law in 1882 and repealed in 1943 — prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt forced the relocation of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps. Japanese internment lasted from 1942-46.

Some might say those were long ago, but several Asian American students detailed the microaggressions they continue to face. Morgan Zuanic, a student, detailed her peers making jokes about her race and other students mocking the food she brought to school.

"Growing up with this normalized racism, I was made to believe I was overreacting," Zuanic said. "First, I felt uncomfortable by these occurrences but did not do much to stop them. As I grew older, I realized how racially fueled these so-called innocent occurrences affected me."

Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 149 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate an Extremism. The analysis centered around 16 of the nation's largest cities, where overall hate crime dropped 7 percent in that time.

According to the Pew Research Center, 3 in 10 Asian Americans reported having experienced racial slurs or racists jokes since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Basking Ridge community stood strong against anti-Asian racism Saturday, and speakers hope their message to fight racism prevails.

"We need to protect our community from violent attacks," said Juliet Bu, of the Basking Ridge branch of the Alliance of Youth Leaders. "We need to ensure that the events in Atlanta are never repeated. We must speak up and stand up for our fellow Asian-Americans. We can fight hate and racism, but only together."

Watch video highlights below:

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