Faith leaders stand against Asian hate crimes
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer
A lot of support was expressed for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders – verbally and by action – a week after eight people were killed in shootings at three Atlanta area spas.
Eric Egina took in every word that was spoken by a group of faith leaders who showed up on the front porch of Bethel Missioner Baptist Church to denounce hate crimes. At one point they stood around Egina with outstretched arms in prayer.
Rev. RB Holmes, pastor at Bethel, offered even more assurance to Egina and his compatriots who live in Tallahassee.
“We stand united to say to this brother and all of his great people; my brothers and sisters, that we stand with you,” Holmes said. “We love you. We’re in this fight together.”
The March 16 shooting in Atlanta took the lives of eight people, including six of Asian descent. Police have charged suspect Robert Aaron Long with eight counts of murder, but they haven’t identified his action as a hate crime.
However, Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition addressing anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, reported seeing a rise in hate crimes targeting Asians. At least 3,795 incidents were reported in the last 12 months.
Like Egina, co-owner of Real Sarap Filipino restaurant on West Tennessee Street, many of the nearly 10,000 Asians who live in Tallahassee/Leon County are business owners.
“We believe that everyone ought to be a part of the American dream without being discriminated against; without being set aside as some special group,” Holmes said. “We are all special when it comes to God.”
The rise in attacks against Asians has been especially noticeable after former President Donald Trump cynically put the blame for the coronavirus pandemic on China.
A breakdown of the Stop AAPI Hate report shows that verbal harassment (68.1 percent) was one of the most common attacks. Asians also have had to endure physical assault and Civil rights violations such as workplace discrimination among common occurrences.
Count a group of local churches among those that are willing to help eradicate hate. The group will be working as the Capital Area Justice Ministry, said Wayne Wiatt, senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Egina said hate crimes aren’t something that he sees in Tallahassee.
“That is out of my control,” he said of what is happening in other areas of the country. “You can tell them not to hate you, but hate is never going to go away.”
Speaking on behalf of the Urban League, Curtis Taylor, president/CEO of the local branch, said the organization denounces hate crimes.
“We are appalled by the recent increase in hate crimes and racism in America,” Taylor said. “We will not stop fighting until all races can go to the park, all races can jog in your community, all races can sleep at night and not worry about being killed, all races can go to the spar, the grocery story or the church without having fear of racism, hate and bigotry.”
Judy Mandrell, co-pastor at Life Changers Church, also called for unison in the fight against hate crimes. Cultural and language differences shouldn’t be a hindrance, she said.
“We may not understand each other but we can love each other,” Mandrell said. “We will stand with you, your family and all of our brothers and sisters to say that we are in this together. You’re not alone.”
