Ridgewood Rallies Against Rise In Anti-Asian Violence, Racism

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Ridgewood to stand in solidarity against anti-Asian racism and violence on Saturday.

The rally was organized by the Ridgewood Chinese American Association, and featured a number of local and county officials, as well as activist groups and other community leaders. It brought together people from neighboring communities like Glen Rock, Paramus, Mahwah and Wyckoff, according to local activist Van Imm.

"Since coronavirus shutdowns began last March, thousands of Asian Americans have faced racist verbal and physical attacks or have been shunned by others, according to a recent report by Stop AAPI Hate. Hundreds of residents gathered in Ridgewood on Saturday for a unity rally and demand an end to the surge in anti-Asian racism and violence," the Ridgewood Chinese American Association said on social media.

They also shared photos from the event:

The rally did feature a moment of tension when a speaker from the activist group Ridgewood for Black Liberation interrupted Mayor Susan Knudsen’s remarks.

Imm referred to it as a “moment of brief surprise,” but the group said the dueling speech was in opposition to what they called a “performative” moment from Ridgewood leadership. Rather, they wanted to deliver an “anti-imperialist speech honoring those lost from centuries of colonial violence and imperialist interventions,” the group said.

A video posted to Ridgewood for Black Liberation’s Instagram page shows the 11-minute interaction between activist Thria Bernabe and the crowd, which included interspersed moments of support and disdain.

Bernabe, a “Filipinx immigrant,” said she was “not here to listen to white women speak at an anti-Asian rally.” Some crowd members responded with “you’re the racist.” (Knudsen is white.)

Eventually, Bernabe finished her speech, and the event continued on.

“The original program continued with various passionate and engaging speakers conveying the critical message of reflecting on our differences, acknowledging the discomfort that we feel in discussing it, but yet coming together to end hate against Asians and all hate crimes,” said Imm.

Video of the speakers can be found on YouTube. Click here to watch.

A Rise In Violence Since The Pandemic

At least two reports tracked anti-Asian violence since the onset of the coronavirus in March 2020 through the first two months of 2021.

The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center received 3,795 reports of anti-Asian violence since March 19, 2020, a recent report states.

Verbal harassment and shunning make up the majority of those reports, with acts of assault accounting for over 11 percent of the total incidents reported to the group.

These numbers are consistent with a recent survey published by the Pew Research Center, which found that 3 in 10 Asian adults have faced slurs and jokes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey also found that people are more likely to share racist views about people of Asian descent since the onset of the pandemic.

From Pew:

"A majority of Asian adults (58%) say it is more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views about people who are Asian than it was before the coronavirus outbreak; roughly four-in-ten white, Black and Hispanic adults say this is more common now. A sizable share of Black adults (45%) also say it is more common for people to express racist views about Black people than before the outbreak, more than the shares of white, Hispanic and Asian adults who say the same."

Stop AAPI Hate said it's important to contextualize that these numbers are just what are being reported, and it's likely the case that more incidents are happening than the nearly 3,800 included in their report.

"The number of hate incidents reported to our center represent only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur, but it does show how vulnerable Asian Americans are to discrimination, and the types of discrimination they face," the report read.

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