Speakers discuss discrimination, violence and stereotypes at vigil for Atlanta victims - TribLIVE

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A large crowd gathered Sunday night on the portico of the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh for a candlelight vigil remembering the victims of recent shootings around Atlanta.

Eight people were killed in the March 16 shooting spree, six of whom were Asian American women. Police say the gunman had been a former customer at the spas that were targeted in the shootings.

Since the incidents, people have gathered in Atlanta and in cities across the U.S. to draw awareness to increasing violence targeting Asian Americans. A ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally was held in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood the day before Sunday’s vigil, drawing crowds and including words from actress Sandra Oh – who is in town filming the Netflix series, “The Chair.”

Sunday’s event was co-hosted by the Pittsburgh United Chinese Americans (UCA), local Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders, Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and Welcoming Pittsburgh, an immigrant and refugee inclusion initiative. It included several speakers from Pittsburgh’s Asian American communities, as well as allies and government officials.

The crowd was asked to gather around 6:30 p.m., and was large by the time speakers began around 7 p.m. As the event began, police blocked off a section of Grant Street to allow more space for social distancing.

People held signs with phrases like “Stop Asian Hatred,” “We belong here,” “We are all American,” and “Racism is a virus. After the names and ages of the eight victims were recited, the crowd stood in a moment of silence, clutching candles that grew brighter as the light faded.

One after another, speakers in Pittsburgh’s AAPI community described experiences of being harassed, stereotyped and made to feel unwelcome. Itha Cao, a policy analyst for the city of Pittsburgh, said she felt a certain degree of privilege to be cisgendered and a fluent English speaker. Still, holding back tears at times, she described instances when she has been stereotyped and fetishized as an Asian American woman. She related one incident at the height of the pandemic last year, when, as she was out for a run, a man came out of his house to yell and threaten her.

“I use my privilege today to speak on behalf of those who cannot, who are rightfully afraid,” Cao said.

Speakers lamented the lack of progress through history when it comes to AAPI discrimination.

“I keep asking myself, how did this happen? And why does history keep repeating itself?” one speaker, Sunny Yang, asked. Referencing an Atlanta police officer’s comments that the suspected shooter had a “bad day,” she continued: “What happened to our society? Was it because of the ‘model minority’ myths that we’re not going to speak up? Should we fear for our lives, and should our fate be determined by if someone of privilege has had a ‘bad day?’”

Paris Yamamoto, of the University of Pittsburgh’s Japanese Student Association and Pitt Asian Student Alliance, also referenced the harmful “model minority,” narrative, the over-sexualization and stereotyping of Asian women and a xenophobic false narrative during the pandemic that paints Asian Americans as to blame for covid-19.

“Racism is not the price you pay for looking different in this country,” Yamamoto said. “Racism is the result of false superiority, fear and hate.”

The event also included a segment focused on building community alliances, and included speakers Barbara Johnson, the YWCA’s vice president for race and gender equity, Rabbi Ron Symons from the Jewish Community Center, Brother Amro Elaswalli from the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh and Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose. Each shared sentiments of solidarity in battling discrimination and racism.

“Let’s not forget that it could have happened in any other city in this country,” Ruiz said. It could have happened in Pittsburgh, she said. “We can’t continue to let these things divide us.”

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto also shared comments, declaring Western Pennsylvania a “welcoming region” – one that is “blessed” by the contributions of AAPI individuals over generations.

Still, Peduto referenced Pittsburgh’s familiarity with acts of racism and hate crimes, naming the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, in which 11 people were killed in an act of anti-semitism.

“We hold these candles because light is the only way to drive out darkness,” Peduto said. “But it’s the light that is present in the recognition of the many, many events that have been occurring in our country for the past several years. We are all on this big spinning rock, together. There is no ‘us and them.’ There is only ‘us.’”

Teghan Simonton is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, tsimonton@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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