Title
Proclamation Denouncing Xenophobia and Anti-Asian American Pacific Islander Sentiment and Condemns Harmful Rhetoric and Racist Acts Arising Due to the Fears of the COVID-19 Pandemic. (City Manager 2110)
Body
REVISED Proclamation
Whereas, racism and scapegoating toward individuals of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage have persisted since the 19th century and influenced local policies which excluded these individuals, Blacks, and other community members from purchasing homes in the more desirable neighborhoods, and federal policies including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers; and
Whereas, racist policies continued into the 20th century with the Immigration Act of 1924, effectively banning all immigration from Asia; Executive Order 9066 in 1942, authorizing the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II; and others that have impacted Southeast Asian Americans, South Asians, Muslims, and Sikhs, among others; and
Whereas, more than 30 percent of Alameda’s population is of AAPI heritage, and AAPI individuals serve in elected office, on City staff, and City boards and commissions, and are local business owners and employees; and
Whereas, over two million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in health care, law enforcement, first responders, transportation, supermarkets, and other service industries; and
Whereas, the use of disparaging anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID-19 has perpetuated anti-Asian stigma; and
Whereas, such rhetoric is inaccurate and stigmatizing, tends to incite fear and xenophobia, put individuals of AAPI ancestry at risk of retaliation, and deter them from accessing resources and services, appearing in public, and expressing their identity; and
Whereas, AAPI residents of Alameda are increasingly concerned about their safety and well‐being, given the rise of racially motivated attacks, hate crimes, and harmful rhetoric; and
Whereas, as COVID-19 has spread, numerous AAPI communities have reported experiencing microaggressions, racial profiling, hate incidents and, in some cases, hate violence, but this number of self-reported hate incidents represents only a small fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur; and
Whereas, we are deeply saddened by the recent massacre that took place in Georgia, the senseless loss of life, and the suffering of the victims’ loved ones; We encourage anyone who has seen or been a victim of a hate incident to report it to the Stop AAPI Hate Center at www.stopaapihate.org and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Hate Crime Hotline 510-208-4824.
Now, therefore be it resolved, that I, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Mayor of the City of Alameda, and the Alameda City Council, hereby proclaim:
• The Alameda City Council joins cities, counties, and states across the country in affirming its commitment to the safety and well-being of citizens, non-citizens and visitors of Asian Pacific ancestry, and to combat racist acts targeting them; and
• The Alameda City Council denounces xenophobia and anti-AAPI sentiment and condemns harmful rhetoric and racist acts that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• The Alameda City Council affirms its intent to partner with community-based organizations, advocacy groups, as well as other appropriate officials and agencies across the county, to protect AAPI residents and victims of discrimination, and to curb hate acts directed at other groups, including, but not limited to, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and LGBTQ communities, and people with disabilities.
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Mayor