Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare a resolution condemning hate incidents, xenophobic rhetoric, and harassment against Asian Pacific Islander Americans and work towards ensuring that APIA feel safe both during this COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Thank you. We are now moving on to item 11, please. Item 11, this communication from Councilwoman Zahra, Councilwoman Allen, Councilmember Aranda and Vice Mayor Richardson. Recommendation two requires city attorney to prepare a resolution condemning hate incidents against Asian Pacific Islander Americans. Thank you. I want to begin with. Sorry, I'm just a little shaken because we just recently heard, just as this item is reporting today, that there was a recent mass shooting targeting several Asian owned businesses in Atlanta, Georgia. So sorry. Sorry for that. As I resume with this item. So since I want to just express that, you know, that that, you know, we should we should all be against hate hate against anyone. And particularly right now with the COVID 19 pandemic, that since it's began, inflammatory and sign of a phobic rhetoric, referring to COVID 19 as the Chinese virus or kung flu has put the Asian and Pacific Islander American families, communities and businesses at high risk for bullying, harassment and hate crimes. And unfortunately, many Asian Pacific Islander, American and L.A. County and around the nation have been unjustly blamed for causing the pandemic. Long Beach, the city of Long Beach, has approximately over 60 out 65,000 Asian Pacific Islanders. And the hate has increased and escalated where many are living in fear. And we've been targeted for discriminatory, discriminatory treatment, hostility and violence. According to the Pew Research Center report, about three in ten Asian adults, 31% say they have been subject to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity since the outbreak of the pandemic. And I just shared earlier that it's very real. The chief had just informed me, just, you know, an hour or so ago about this mass shooting and that three of them were female Asians. And this has happened also locally just a few months, about in October 2020. We had a Long Beach resident who went viral for her racist rant and then sentenced for 45 days in jail for assaulting a Filipino-American woman. And in the city of Rosemead, Matthew Long, he's an elementary school worker waiting at a bus stop, was brutally beaten with his own cane and lost part of his fingers. And in San Francisco, an 84 year old Thai man, Ratana Paddy, an elderly who is nearly blind, died from injuries he sustained from an assault he suffered while walking. And yet, you know, yet Asian Pacific Islander Americans have been sacrificing their lives, making our country safe, and serving on the front lines of this pandemic and this crisis as health care providers, as first responders and other essential roles. So, for example, nearly 31% of the nurses who have died from the coronavirus in the US are Filipinos, yet they only make up 4% of the nursing population. So I just want to ask my colleagues to support this item, to condemn the discriminatory treatment, hostility and violence against our Asian Pacific Islander American community members and commitment to working to ensure that they feel safe during this pandemic by standing in solidarity against hate. And and I also wanted to make sure that once I concluded my presentation, then we can go to a public comment. And I'd love to hear back from my colleagues on this item. But I did want to ask if the Chief is Chief Lunas online or if we have a staff online that can share information about how to report hate incidents or crimes that they experience. Because I really don't I can't stress enough that there is no crimes. Are incidents too small to report because we need to hear them in order to make sure that it's documented and that we addressed it head on. So, so with that, I, um, I leave SAC for if you're able to respond to that question. Thank you, Councilmember. Yes. We have Commander Pino on the line and can talk about our process. Commander? Good evening. Councilman. Sorrow. Honorable mayor and city council. Obviously, if a. If it's an emergency call, we request that the community members call 911. If there's an immediate danger and we request the community member if there's not. Immediate danger. We request the community member to call our non-emergency line, which is 562 or three five, six, 711. With that, police officer will be dispatched out to the scene or wherever the victim is. Document the incident. If that incident meets the element. Of other hate crime, they will then file an appropriate report. All of our reports of hate crimes are handled by the violent crimes detail, which we also have a violent crimes detailed detective on call available to respond to suspected hate crimes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That detective will respond out there, will coordinate with patrol officers, speak with the victims, witnesses, suspects, and gather any type of evidence. From there, we automatically, if it's determined to be a hate crime. Notify the Long Beach Human Dignity Officer Teresa Gomez. Make sure our notifications are done there. And the Human Dignity Officer will then communicate with the victim and arrange to provide any requested services. The responding detective continues the investigation all the way through prosecution. Great. Thank you so much, Commander. I also want to share that if people didn't feel comfortable calling the police line, that there is also an organization called the Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council that they can contact that could do it in language as well. And so with that, I'd love to hear public comment on this item. Q Why don't we go to public comment and it will come back to the City Council and Councilman Soros? I'm assuming you've also made a motion to do. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Yes, I make a motion to move that item. Okay, great. Then, Madam Clerk, why don't we go ahead and I do have a second already, so why don't we go ahead? By council member, you ringa. So why don't we go ahead to go ahead and do the public comment. Thank you. The first speaker is Angelina Tan Tran. Good evening, mayor and council members. I'm Angelina Tran. And I'm. I show support for. Item 11 all over social media in 2020 and even now still in 2021. I've seen hate crimes against Asian-Americans all over the country. And. You know, even. Globally and other. Nations as well. And. I want to be in a community where I can feel safe going. Out, where. I know that my family and my friends feel safe when they go out. And with all these hate crimes, it really puts our community at risk and. I think that he is a more severe virus than COVID 19. So. I really support this item because I want everyone to just respect and accept, you know, everyone from all backgrounds. And I really want our community to stand in solidarity and unity because it will really advances in the future. And I hope that, you know, the council members will vote in support of this item. Thank you. Think your next speaker is Kiwi. So. Good evening, honorable council members and Mayor. My name is Kelly, so and I'm calling in support of Councilwoman Dr. Sylvie Sorrels, item 11, and which we want to condemn the incidents, harassments and racist comments that has occurred in our communities all across the state and here in Long Beach, too. We want to acknowledge the risk that words like the Chinese virus and the kung flu virus and any other of those that are placed on our Asian and Pacific Islander communities. As you all know, we are all living in an unprecedented time. We face the challenges of COVID 19 and the long road to rebuilding our businesses and our economy. But we must not overlook or turn a passive eye to this epidemic. The elders in the API community are oftentimes unable to verbalize the abuses that we are seeing grow by 150% this year and rising daily. They are the most vulnerable among us and the most targeted. And so it is our responsibility as leaders and members of the community to ring the bell, to let everyone know that this is wrong, that this shouldn't be happening, that this is, in fact happening. To acknowledge the breadth and reach of this problem and racism of any form should not be allowed to grow. So with that, I just encourage and call upon all of the council members to vote in support of this item. Thank you so much. And your next speaker is Charles Song. Good evening, Audible Mayor and council members. I am Tolleson community organizer calling in support of Councilwoman Dr. Celi Sorrells. Agenda item 11 to condemn the hate incidents, harassment and racist comments which has put the Asian and Pacific Islander American Apia at risk. As we slowly recover from the COVID 19 pandemic and four years of heightened xenophobia and racism, California have an opportunity to recommit its value and deliver for the community members who have suffered the most from these tragedy and to avoid this hate crime from spreading into our beautiful and most diverse city. We must create a culture of respect and accept them for all members, regardless of their background on about mayors and council member. We must stand in solidarity and support AAPI community and condemn these hate incidents and crime which perpetuate racism, discriminatory treatment, hostility and violence. Tonight, I encourage all the council members to vote yes to support this item. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity. Good night. Thank you. Our next speakers, Yoko Koyama. Hello, Honorable. Mayor and council members. Thank you for this opportunity to for public comment. I'm Robin Gill. Kerry Yokoyama, a minister of Long Beach British Church, a Japanese American Buddhist community on the West Side. I'm calling in support of Council man, woman, Dr. Silly Salaries Item 11. And I would like to thank Dr. Sara for this proposal. With the previous generations in our community having gone through the experience of internment camp and we witnessed the lingering harassment, aggression and racism after the war, which was directed toward the. Vulnerable members of the community. Including the children and senior members. We need to prevent by all means the recurrence of this tragic cycle. Needless to say, many people are. Bearing the burden. Of the impact of the pandemic and all sense of ongoing mental stress. And this will create. An environment where. Any one individual can be a victim or perpetrator without a clear guidance of the leadership of the city. Myself coming from Japan to Canada. This mutual respect and acceptance of multiculturalism is definitely the greatest virtue of this city, which I most certainly appreciate for myself, but also for my eight year old son with Down's Syndrome, which is as a member of a Asian Buddhist community, I fully support this effort to stop the cycle of racism, discrimination, hostility and violence, which we see now is being directed to the most vulnerable members of the community. So I ask that all respected council members and their support this attempt to create a safer environment for APIA community and beyond. Thank you very much. And your next speaker is Julia Huang. Thank you for allowing me to virtually stand before you today. Honorable Mayor and Council Members. My name is Julia Wang and I am the President of Inner Trends Communications, located in the second District of Long Beach. In addition, we are property owner in Long Beach owning two historical buildings that we lovingly call Psychic Temple and Edison Theater on Broadway. We're also known as the organizer of arts and culture events in the city such as Power Long Beach. Today I am calling in support of Councilwoman Dr. Duley item 11 that is being brought forth together with Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, Councilwoman Cindy Allen and Councilmember Roberto Ronda. And as has been presented. Item 11 is for the City of Lumby to condemn racism against Asians, reflected by the increasing number of hate incidents, harassment and racist comments made since the beginning of pandemic. As early as last March. Some of our staff members, most of whom are of Asian descent, have been targeted with acts of racism solely on the basis of their appearance. The magnitude of the verbal attacks that they experienced cannot compare to the horrendous acts of crime that are taking place around the country. And as Councilwoman Sarah mentioned, even as we speak just a few hours, just a few hours ago, there are at least eight dead, all Asian, following shootings at three spots in Atlanta area. It is time that we not regard these incidents as random acts but racially motivated. The conversation to end racism must include Asian American Pacific Islanders. Therefore, I urge the Long Beach. I urge the City of Long Beach to stand in solidarity and support our AAPI community and condemn hate incidents and crime which perpetuates racism, discriminatory treatment, hostility and violence. I encourage all the council members to vote to support this item. Thank you very much. Think your next speaker is Michael Kahn. Hi. My name is Michael Kahn. I'm the executive director of Pacific Asian Counseling Services, and I am in support of Dr. Soros motion on item 11. Our agency provides mental health services, especially to Cambodians in Long Beach. My staff reported that they had no specific attacks on our clients or themselves because many of our staff are Asian . However, our Cambodian clients, who are often older adults, are aware of the attacks and have expressed great fear during their counseling sessions, especially about going out into public spaces. Many do not go out unless it's absolutely necessary, and this has increased their sense of isolation and loneliness and caused great anxiety. Both our clients and staff are also reporting anger. They are angered because they feel APIs are seen as helpless with the upsurge of attacks in the Bay Area and New York City. Many people have finally started to speak up, including President Biden. APIs are not accepting the situation, silently adds legislation and press coverage have increased to inform all of America about these acts of violence. Two of my staff reported to me that they felt better knowing that this motion was going to be presented tonight. It reassured them that these attacks are acknowledged as racist and hateful. I hope the City Council will approve this motion. Your residents should not have to restrict their lives out of fear. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is from Byron Shire. Hi. I'm Karen and I'm calling in support of Councilwoman Dr. Sally Sara. Item 11 to condemn the hate incidents. Ratchet down racist comments referring to COVID 19 as a Chinese virus or a kung flu, which has put the Asian. And Pacific Islander. American. Community at risk. I'm an education student at Cal State Long Beach, and this September I'll be entering the education community as a teacher, as a member of the education community and an artist. Poverty, hatred and ignorance have a way of destroying the work that we all work so hard to collectively build. Racist comments towards Asians will not merely stop there, but it will bleed over into the Latino community, African-American community, West Indian and Caribbean community, and any other minority community. In other words, this is everyone's problem. Mayor Garcia, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community now has its eyes on you. How will you respond to how you respond to this will affect how our community looks at you, how we vote. And it's a potential gold star in your political career. The ball is in your court. We must create a culture of respect and acceptance for all members of all backgrounds. We must end solidarity and support our AAPI communities and condemn hate incidents and crimes which perpetuate racism, discriminatory treatment, hostility and violence. I encourage all the council members to support this item. Thank you and I look forward to hearing your results. I think your next speaker is Tai Chong. Good evening. Good evening, honorable mayor and council members. My name is Tim Chan, a Cambodian. American entrepreneur and longtime. Resident of Long Beach. First and foremost, I would like to say. Thank you to Councilwoman Dr. Susie Ciro for bringing to light the agenda number 11 of the ongoing rise of Asian and Pacific Islander American. Hate throughout the city, state and nation. That needs to be addressed. As we all know, silence killed my childhood experience, recalls Cambodian. Elders, elders that have been getting robbed, killed, beat. Up and threatened in the mortgage community for years and years. In the eighties and nineties, the worst. Sometimes by our own kind. Yet other races. But with technology surveillance video in 2000 2021 being televised, discussed and coming to light. Police reports are made, but less fear of reporting, standing. Up and being a target of another crime is what silences our community. You know, imagine living in the hood and you voice out and get someone locked up. Now they know your name and where you family stays. It's tough to voice out because fear is what is. Embedded. Into our system. In the aftermath. But I would like to say. Glad to have. Having actors, people of influence. News outlets speak out. It's powerful. How do we create a change in policy, policy or a movement to stop these claims? Well, we're actually policy makers at the local, state and national level to partner up in contributing to stop the hate crimes. And it starts here. We're giving the community a platform to talk to our local politicians. So thank you for. My time. And ask to keep this discussion going and made of the importance of voting yes and supporting this item. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes public comment for this item. Thank you very much. I do have folks that are cued up. So let me I have some comments also, but I'll go through the counsel first and then I'll come back. Doctor So Councilwoman, did you have anything additional to add right now? You want me just go down the speaker's list. Now I just want to thank everyone who made public comment for their courage and their advocacy to speak out today on this issue and and to speak in support of the item. Thank you. Thank you. Comes from Ringo. You were the second. Thank you. Barry, I don't want to. I don't know what to say in regards to how many words are not enough to express the grief and the hurt that I feel. Having having to bring this forward. If you may recall, I brought an item forward back in January, used to describe the events that happened on January 6th . And where we saw just all the hate and all the violence that was that existed there at the time. And this is just being fomented as a result of that. Our country is is in a bad place right now. It needs to be healed. And we need to get rid of all the hate that started with the last administration and where those names came from, the dog flu and everything else that goes with that. So. Dr. Sara Mai Mai. And I share it with you. We had the same incident in El Paso, Texas. Where another racist attacked a ton of Latino families in El Paso in a in a in a mall. And it seems like. And then, of course, we know what was going on in the African-American community. And we all mourn George Floyd. And we'll continue to do so forever. But I'm hoping that some day will come when we won't have to be writing these kinds of resolutions. Well, we can write resolutions that celebrate our diversity and that acknowledges that we are working together to make a better world. So thank you. Okay. Thank you, Councilman. Vice Mayor Richardson. Just want to take a moment and acknowledge Dr. Sorrow for bringing this important item forward so we can acknowledge. Terrible situation. It's typical. I just heard you know, I just heard Dr. Sahloul talk about a situation that happened just today. So I think that helps drive home the importance that we need to, you know, understanding, acknowledge the need for compassion and love in the coming days and reclaim racism from the top of our government. So I'm happy I'm honored that you allowed me you asked me to sign on. I'm happy to support it. And and I think this is great leadership. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman's in the house. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to also say thank you to Councilmember Sorrell for bringing this item forward. I share in your in your frustration with this. My my horror and sadness of the instances that have been happening. Just leave me without words as well. In Long Beach, we know that our diversity diversity is our strength. And even though we know that, there's still a lot of work still to be done. I really appreciate you bringing a resolution forward like this, especially after learning of this mass murder event that just happened right now in Atlanta . I mean, it's just outrageous and and very, very heartbreaking. And my condolences go out to all the families that lost loved ones on, you know, because of nonsense like this. So thank you. Thank you for inviting me to sign on to this item. And thank you for continuing to make our city proud by bringing forward resolutions like this. That. That. You know, there are focused on on the positive, on compassion and love and not hate. So thank you. Thank you, Councilman Allen. I thank you, Mayor. Also, I also want to thank the councilwoman sorrow for bringing this item forward. And and also thanks to the public for for all of those comments, I just so bothered to hear about Atlanta. These attacks are just horrific. And our hearts are heavy caring about this news. And we all are committed to stopping the cycle of racism and violence and and leadership starts at the top. So thank you, Councilwoman Ciro, for your leadership on this. And and I also want to thank my council colleagues. Our support sends a clear, strong message that Long Beach stands with the Asian and Pacific Islander community and that the xenophobic and racist, racist behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. And this type of violence just has to stop. So, I mean, if anyone listening to this, if you are, you know, someone or you have been a victim of any type of hate crime, please know that we have the resources and the city and the mechanism mechanisms to to deal with with this crime. And our prayers go out tonight to the families and to the communities in Atlanta. And I agree with you, Council member Turanga. I can't wait. Til there's a day when these type of resolution resolutions are a thing of the past. Thank you. Councilwoman. Councilmember. Super. Thank you, Mayor. I'd also like to thank Councilwoman Ciro for bringing the item forward. What a sad irony that we have this incident tonight in Atlanta on the night we have this agenda item. But as the councilwoman mentioned, police chief Robert Luna contacted her and he also contacted me. I represent the eastern end of Cambodia town. And that to me is such a positive note that Cindy Allen just mentioned, like a zero tolerance for this. And boy, your police chief is right on that. I just wanted to add that that he mentioned there are no credible threats locally tonight, but LAPD is on alert. So for anyone out there fearful know that your police department is on this? And yeah, it's just unbelievable that we need these types of agenda items. Let's all hope for the day that we don't. But I, too, would like to encourage anyone who has experienced any incidents to please, please contact the police department. If you'd like to remain anonymous, you have that avenue. But don't. Don't let it go unsaid. Thank you. Thank you. Councilwoman Pryce. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I, too, want to thank Councilman Ciro for bringing this item forward and allowing us to have a conversation about it. Unfortunately, I think many minority communities have experienced a lot of hate incidents and hate crimes over the past 4 to 5 years. We saw a tremendous increase right about four years ago, and we started to see more of it. When the country became even more divided after the Corona virus, discussions began to really tear up our communities in terms of politics versus science. And it's very unfortunate that we have landed ourselves in this place where we're having these conversations. I do want to say that I have the privilege and the honor to have a daily profession where we talk about these topics on a daily basis. All of the attorneys that I supervise get police reports submitted from one of 33 police agencies in the county of Orange. And we often have to make difficult decisions whether we're going to charge a hate crime enhancement to a crime. And I can tell you, as much as we talk about the criminal justice system, giving people second chances and offering opportunities for diversion. My personal philosophy is this as the supervisor of the courthouse that I manage is that when it comes to hate crimes, we prosecute them to the fullest extent that the law allows us to, because the individuals who are committing crimes that are fueled by hate, who are making allegations about people who are putting forth out there very irresponsible comments about their fellow community members deserve to be punished. It's not okay to have people living in fear, and it's not okay to categorize people and make assumptions about them based on their race or their color or their gender. And I know that in my day job I have the honor and the privilege to represent the people of the state of California and treating those cases seriously. And I'm here as a partner to you and any other member of this council as part of a community like I am, that is often judged based on the way they look and assumptions made based on the way they look. To know that I stand with you in solidarity and anything I can do to help you advance your goals in this endeavor, you can count on me for that 100%. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Austin. Thank you. I don't know that I can say anything that hasn't already been said by my colleagues. But I will say that I stand with our our Asian-American API community during this time when we see significant spikes in violence against our brothers and sisters. And this is this is important. And I say that with reverence. You know, we I was always taught to judge people by the content of their character, not what they look like. And and that that is something that I think everyone should. Everyone should carry themselves that way and to do unto others as you want, you expect them to do unto you. I. I think the tone has. Has changed. And I'm. I'm encouraged. Although we had a spike or an incident in Atlanta today, and I'm really, really disheartened to hear about that. I learned that and the tone at the national level has shifted, which I am I am hopeful that that that will. I will somehow suppress and get us to a better place where we can start thinking about, you know, repairing our our communities, becoming healthier. Working collaboratively toward, you know, improving our economy. And that's going to take all of us as as Long Beach residents and citizens of this country to do it. And so everybody brings something to the table. Respect everyone else's culture. I certainly do. Particularly, you know, of course, are my community here in Long Beach who, you know, they have my heart always. They are my brothers and sisters. I see you that way and I will continue to see you that way. So thank you for bringing forth this item. And again, I'm happy to stand with you in support of this item and, you know, be a voice against violence in our community in any way. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. And figure everyone for their words. I happen to have a couple comments as well. One, I'd just first start by, I think we can all unequivocally say that hate against the AAPI community is not acceptable, not just in our own city, but it's not acceptable anywhere in our country or in the world . And it's incredibly both saddening and angering to see the hate crimes that have happened among our Asian community, among our AAPI community. Long Beach has a history of having a very diverse and large Asian-American community. Pacific Islander community. You think about not just the, ah, Cambodian community, but think about our Filipino community, for example, which is very large in the city and has a history of that dates back to our military history and so much of how this area of the country developed. And so I of course, stand with Councilman Sorrow and the whole community. And I want to just just kind of to close I share something personal that I don't know that I've I've shared with many of you before. Few people know. First, I think most of you know, my sister is half Thai, so her whole family is is Thai. And that's a big part of of my family and who we are. My father, his partner, she has full Japanese. And that's a big part of our family. And so from my on my dad's side, you know, I have spent a lot of a lot of our time having a lot of amazing Asian food and being part of a that's a big part of my family and that's a huge part of who of who we are. But also something that you may not know is my family name actually originally is is not Garcia, but it's actually Chan, my great great grandfather. I will tell this story. They never give a chance to share it. My great great grandfather, actually a Chinese laborer, he was from China and came to Peru with many Chinese laborers at the time to build railroads and infrastructure and were indentured servants in Peru at the time. And so my great great grandfather, whose last name was Chen, was given the name Garcia. Like what like was given all those in his work group. That was the name essentially of his owner, of the person of the person that was actually forcing him to work. And eventually, in many ways, these these these folks were indentured servants. In some cases they were slaves. In other cases, they were forced forced laborers in much of South America, but certainly in Peru. And so the name Garcia is passed down from from him. And my my on my dad's side of the family, there is a rich appreciation of that Chinese heritage that comes from our original name and and just got married into this beautiful other Asian culture is from from from my sister and from my father's partner. And so I see that just from a place of a lot of of love for the greater Asian-American AAPI community. It's a part of my family. It's it's it's who it's who I am. And I just want to share that it our when Sara, of course, we all stand together on this issue and anything that we can do to show our solidarity and support in the days and weeks ahead, I think we will we will do so. And so with that, I will ask for a roll call vote. Councilwoman Sun has. Councilwoman said they had. Councilwoman Ellen. I. Councilman Price. I. Councilman Sabrina. I. Councilwoman Mango. I. Councilwoman Sara I. Councilmember Oranga. I. Councilman Austin. Hi. Vice Mayor Richardson. I did. And that was an I from modern days. Thank you.