HOUSTON – Hundreds gathered at Discovery Green Saturday to denounce Asian hate and mourn the eight people lost in Atlanta’s spa shootings earlier this week.
The vigil was put on by the OCA-Greater Houston, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well being Asian Pacific Americans.
“I’m tired of people thinking we are silent. We have a voice and we want to be allies. We want to work together,” said attendee Tricia Francisco.
In the crowd, there were signs of love and others asking for the end to Asian hate.
According to the OCA-Greater Houston, there have been 3,800 local hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since March of 2020.
“What I love is that it’s not just Asian people here. You have people of color, like Black, Hispanic, you even have some white people here and I love that,” Francisco said.
The rally was also a chance to mourn, honor and remember the victim killed in Atlanta during a mass shooting at three separate spas.
Six of the eight victims were of Asian descent, despite that though the shooter claims the shooting was not racially motivated.
Maria Cheng like many in attendance said they just don’t buy it.
“Honestly, the only thing I felt was anger. Anger at the audacity that the shooter had to say that this was like a problem he had, that this was a sexual desire,” Cheng said.