PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Rises Above Hate announced they are hosting an event in Old Town in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Month.
The May 14 event, beginning on Flanders Festival Street, will feature local performances, speeches, food carts, and a COVID-19 vigil at Lan Su Chinese Garden.
Oregon Rises Above Hate event schedule here
Additionally, Cultural Heritage Institutions including the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Jewish Museum and Portland Chinatown Museum will be open free to the public.
“The Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs is honored to collaborate with Rise Above Hate for this important event,” said OCAPI Co-chair, Susan Soonkeum Cox. “The impact of racial hate crimes and actions against members of our community cannot go unanswered. This call-to-action is a critical step, and we invite community leaders throughout the state to get involved.”
According to Oregon Rises Above Hate, during the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans surged with more than 10,900 hate incidents in the U.S. since March 19, 2020.
“The goal of Oregon Rises Above Hate is to highlight AANHPI issues to the broader community while uniting our diverse and distinct communities of Asian descent together in one voice,” Anne Naito-Campbell, organizer of Oregon Rises Above Hate, said. “Together, we will rise against hate, we will confront it, and we will rise above it. We will build a future that brings the promise of America to reality.”
Elizabeth Nye, Executive Director of the Lan Su Chinese Garden, added “we want to make our voice very clear— we stand united with the Old Town Chinatown community to strongly condemn racial intolerance and violence wherever it occurs.”
Elizabeth Dinh contributed to this story