Sponsored by Springfield City Councilor Justin Hurst, Esquire
With Unanimous Support from Councilors Allen, Brown, Curran, Davila, Edwards, Fenton, Gómez, Lederman, Ramos, Walsh, Whitfield and Williams

“If we don’t stand for justice-and justice for everyone-then hate prevails.” —Councilor Hurst

WHEREAS, 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for 7 percent of the Nation’s population in the United States,7.2 percent of the population in Massachusetts, and 2.4 percent of the population in Springfield, and

WHEREAS, 4% of newly registered pre-K students in the Springfield Public Schools are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which is evidence of a growing population, and
WHEREAS, Springfield has a proud Vietnamese community and is home of the Vietnamese American Civic Association in the Forest Park Neighborhood with many other Asian nationalities growing citywide, and

WHEREAS, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders continue to serve on the frontlines of this COVID–19 pandemic in health care, law enforcement, restaurants, grocery stores, and other service industries, and

WHEREAS, The use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID–19 has perpetuated anti-Asian stigmas and has contributed to Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID–19 pandemic regardless of their Nationality or place of origin, and WHEREAS, Since January 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of hate crimes and incidents against those of Asian descent and a recent study showed that more than 30% of Americans have witnessed anti-Asian discrimination, and

WHEREAS, 3,000 accounts of Asian-American assaults have been documented over the past year by a national coalition called Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate. An astounding 67% of those incidents were reported right here in Massachusetts, and

WHEREAS, Fighting racism and being anti-racist must include fighting anti-Asian racism,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Springfield City Council:

(1) Calls on all public officials to condemn anti-Asian sentiment in any form,
(2) Recognizes that the health and safety of all Americans, no matter their background, must be of utmost priority,
(3) Encourages the Springfield Police Department to investigate and document all credible reports of hate crimes and threats against our Asian-American community, and
(4) Asks the Springfield Public Schools to investigate and document all credible reports of bullying incidents and threats against our Asian-American students. ■