Statement Opposing Violence Against Asians and Asian Americans
March 2021
The Burlingame Library Equity Team would like to acknowledge the recent spate of attacks on Asian American elders in the country – many in the Bay Area – and offer resources for understanding and support to the community.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been an increase in hate crimes directed at the AsianAmerican community – due in large part to rising xenophobia. According to the Stop AAPI Hate National Report, there were “3,795 incidents received by the Stop AAPI Hate reporting centerfrom March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021,” with 1,691 of those incidents in California.NPR reports that the “more than two dozen recent assaults and robberies in the Bay Area mirror a national rise in hate crimes against older Asian Americans during the pandemic.”
Violence can affect any community, but unity against such hate is vital. We stand in solidarity with our Asian American communities in the Bay Area and beyond. We also recognize that traditional means of enforcement are not necessarily the solution and, in some situations, can cause harm.
Our city is named after the reformer and diplomat Anson Burlingame who negotiated the first American treaty with China,which recognized the equal status of both nations in 1868. This treaty provided protections for Chinese citizens traveling and residing in the United States. As Mark Twain wrote in Burlingame’s obituary, “For he had outgrown the narrow citizenship of a state and become a citizen of the world; and this charity was large enough and his great heart warm enough to feel for all its races and to labor for them.” Let us support our own Asian American friends and neighbors with the same great heart.
The following are resources on this issue and where to seek support if needed.
Our staff has put together aresource listthat contains information on how to handle hate incidents, as well as books on Asian American history, experiences, and involvement in racial issues.
A hate crime is a crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim's real or perceived protected social group. The resources below are directed towards supporting victims of anti-Asian hate specifically.
The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council takes reports of hates crimes against the Asian American community. The drop-down menu includes English, Chinese traditional and simplified, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Japanese.
Provides links for victim compensation, legal rights, and infographics in a variety of languages.
Burlingame Police Department
If you are a victim of or a witness to a hate crime, you can file a report with the BurlingamePolice Department. If you are in a safe situation, use the non-emergency line 650-777-4100. If you are in danger, use 9-1-1.
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