Violence against elderly Asian Americans in the Bay Area is skyrocketing
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Asian Americans across the Bay Area are concerned over a rising number of violent anti-Asian attacks.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In March, when much of the nation shut down in response to the coronavirus landing on American shores, the Anti-Defamation League estimated that there were at least 57 instances of anti-Asian harassment and violence nationwide.
And in recent weeks, the string of violence and anti-Asian sentiment has reached another breaking point one that has disproportionately targeted vulnerable Asian seniors in the Bay Area.
A fatal attack on an 84-year-old Thai man in San Francisco. A violent attack of an 91-year-old man in Oakland’s Chinatown. An attack and robbery of a 64-year-old Vietnamese woman in San Jose. Another one, targeting a man at a San Leandro bank. Graffiti outside of a Chinese school in San Francisco. That s just in the span of two weeks.
Insulting and frustrating : Community leaders decry lack of Asian Americans in Biden s top Cabinet picks Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY
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Things were looking up for the rapidly growing Asian American electorate after the 2020 election.
Voter turnout in the community had been bigger than ever before, and Joe Biden, the candidate most had supported, had won the presidency. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president, was of South Asian heritage.
So when Biden – whose Cabinet is shaping up to be the most diverse in U.S. history – failed to name a single Cabinet secretary of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent, the backlash was bitter – and compounded by a longstanding sense of feeling left out of federal decision-making. Every presidential Cabinet since 2000 has included an Asian American until now.
Published January 26, 2021, 9:19 PM
Jason Tengco (center) poses with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (Contibuted photo)
The Biden-Harris Administration announced on Jan. 25 the appointment of Filipino-American Jason Benjamin Alinea Tengco as White House Liaison for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Tengco has served as the Chief of Staff for the Biden-Harris campaign’s Coalitions Department and then was the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Lead on the transition team.
Over the past decade, Tnegco has worked for a presidential campaign, the White House, Obama Administration, Congress, and numerous non-profit and campus organizations.
January 20, 2021
With three simple words, Kamala Harris sent out her first official tweet as Vice President: “Ready to serve.”
Ready to serve. Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 20, 2021
With that, a new chapter in American history has begun. Asian American Congressional leaders offered their congratulations and hopes for the future.
“The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer,” said Rep Judy Chu (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“The swearing-in of Kamala Harris as Vice President serves a large part in inspiring generations of young girls and AAPIs to pursue public office.” said the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in a statement. “It is our hope that this will continue to expand the AAPI political pipeline and increase representation of AAPIs at the highest levels of government.”
Everything happens too slowly for my liking.
The last times there were strong glimmers of hope of having a woman in the White House were in 1984 (when Geraldine Ferraro ran for vice president), 2008 and, most recently, in 2016 when Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman nominated for president on a major party ticket.
Many people were delighted, especially Italian American women like myself, when Ferraro ran. They held all kinds of parties for her. I had the pleasure of meeting her on more than one occasion. I once asked her, “What do you do with criticism?” As a Democrat and a woman, she was getting more than her share of verbal attacks, and this was before Twitter and other social media platforms.