Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to speak at a virtual event during the Asian Pacific American Heritage Summit to address unity in the United States amid a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
The “From Victory to Unity” event hosted May 19 by the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Victory Fund will seek to support and “empower” Asian Americans in the U.S. following a surge in violence and hate crimes towards Asian Americans during the pandemic, The Hill reported Thursday.
“AAPI electoral power is on the rise and it’s time AAPI communities get the same recognition, resources, and support as every other ethnic group,” Clinton explained in a statement. “AAPIs are diverse and growing communities with their own set of challenges and opportunities, and we need to acknowledge that and work to empower them in diverse ways.”
Hillary Clinton to speak at AAPI Unity Summit https://t.co/s1F6D8TENw pic.twitter.com/TBepgvmJ67
— The Hill (@thehill) May 13, 2021
The number of anti-Asian hate crimes significantly increased during the coronavirus pandemic, going from 3,795 to 6,693 between March 2020 and March 2021, according to Stop AAPI Hate. (RELATED: ‘We Are Literally Fearing For Our Lives’: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans Reportedly Increased During Pandemic)
Out of the 6,603 incidents involving anti-Asian discrimination, 65.2% involved verbal harassment, 18.1% involved shunning of some sort, 12.6% involved physical assault, 10.3% involved some type of civil rights violation in a workplace setting and 7.3% of the incidents involved online harassment, according to Stop AAPI Hate.
The New York City Police Department released data showing that 24 reported anti-Asian crimes occurred between Jan 1 and Nov. 29, 2020, roughly eight times more than the number of incidents that occurred in 2019, The Asian American Bar Association of New York reported.
The Senate voted 92-6 to advance the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in April in order to address the surge in hate crimes geared towards Asian Americans.