INDIANAPOLIS — #StopAsianHate.
That was the focus of the Asian American Alliance Inc.'s Anti-Asian Hate Crime Town Hall on Friday.
Dozens of members of the AAPI community and allies gathered at United Way of Central Indiana to discuss the recent racially motivated attack in Bloomington where an IU student was stabbed on a bus.
The suspect told police she stabbed the teen because it “would be one less person to blow up our country.”
“We’re Chinese-American. We are American," Eugene Zhen said.
Zhen represents the Indianapolis Chinese community. He says more can be done on a legislative level to prevent these acts.
“If you know the law is present, it will prevent you to do that. I think that hate crime is not unique in here, we see it happened last week and in the last two years, there’s more. So, we need to have a law to protect the citizens," he said.
AAAI President Rupal Thanawala condemns this act of violence and encourages the community to show its support for Asian-American Hoosiers.
“What we’re trying to do here is speak to lots of community and corporate leaders," Thanawala said.
There’s five ways you can show your support during this trying time.
- Advocacy — speak up and speak out against intolerance and racism.
- Accountability — hold individuals accountable for their words and actions.
- Allyship — reach across the aisle and learn about one another.
- Amplification — share AAPI stories and narratives.
- Accommodation —be mindful about religious, language, cultural, and dietary choices.
“This is the way we all need to behave internally. But then, externally, how do we support the community," she said.
The dialogue about Anti-Asian hate will continue into next week.
There will be a rally at Columbus City Hall on Jan. 26.
WRTV will keep you updated with the latest.
