Hundreds of people holding signs and wearing masks marched and held a peaceful vigil in Mesa to support Asian American communities victimized by recent harassment and hate.

Organizers encouraged people to share stories of hate on stage.

Mi-Ai Parrish, MAP Strategies Group CEO and Sue Clark-Johnson Chair of Media Innovation and Leadership at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, said she felt alone until recently, and that was why she had never told her personal story.

"My whole life has been filled with stories of race, and those are stories that I never talked about," said Parrish, who also served as the president and publisher of The Arizona Republic and AZCentral before forming MAP and joining ASU. "The story that I was four before I met my father's parents because they didn't approve of my mother. The stories of the kids taunting me on the playground pretending they didn't understand what my mother was saying because of her accent, even though she has a Ph.D. from USC."

The event at Mesa’s Mekong Plaza was the second local event held to protest anti-Asian attacks across the country. On March 21, hundreds of people showed up to Chandler City Hall, despite the event being organized in less than a day. 

Some signs had statements like, "Love us like you love our food," "Not your model minority, not your fetish, not another hate crime." Others wore shirts that said, "Stop Asian hate." Children were among the crowd.

Nora Kish, who is half Korean, says the support of people who came here paints a more accurate version of the solidarity of the Asian community. Kish's mother, who immigrated in the 1980s, has been afraid since she was confronted by a group of men a few weeks ago.

“Really, it’s white supremacy that is at the root of it all," she said. "Just like a Black Matter Lives activist said, they will keep pitching us against each other until we get on the same page and unite against hate.”

Richelle Miller, who is of Filipino origin, said the growing hate made her want to stand up as an Asian American woman and stop brushing discrimination off.

“This is a country of immigrants, and targeting Asians because of coronavirus is totally uncalled for," she said. "I feel people should try to reach out to one another and try to make connections because we are all immigrants.”

The march began at Mekong Plaza and the crowd repeated organizers in chanting "Racism is a virus, you cannot divide us. Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe. Ain’t no power like the power of the people 'cause the power of the people don’t stop."

Vicente Reid, CEO of the Arizona Asian Chamber, helped organize the event. He said violence against the Asian American community is not new, but the community has not spoken up enough about it.

“Our community has been here for a very long time, we essentially helped build Arizona ... And it’s tough because these acts of hate kinda show no matter what, you’re still a perpetual foreigner, people never look at you as American enough," he said. "For me, growing up in Arizona, I’ve experienced a lot of racism and having two little children myself, I’m working day and night so they don’t have to go through the same things.”

A table at the vigil for victims of anti-Asian attacks was styled as a traditional alter, laid with red cloth, photos of victims, incense, fruit and candles that read, "You fetishize me, but do you protect me?"

A traditional Māori Haka dance was also performed.

Yuyu Tu, 40, said the Atlanta mass shooting makes her feel “angry, but also embarrassed because we just took it (the hate) and nobody talked about it. We are not silent anymore.”

“It’s important to be here for my children and their children,” she said.

Anti-Asian sentiment gained force last year following statements from former President Donald Trump, who often refers to COVID-19 as the "China virus" or "Kung Flu.” The references opened up attacks and xenophobic messaging for people of Asian descent nationwide.

More than 3,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate, including 43 in Arizona, have been reported since March 19, 2020, said Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University who oversees the Stop AAPI Hate Campaign.

As a response to the Atlanta shootings, President Joe Biden has encouraged Congress to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. The bill would help local governments improve hate crime reporting and response.

Advocates for the Asian American community have been alarmed by a string of recent attacks against older Asian Americans, including a 74-year-old Juanito Falcon, who died after being assaulted at Christown Spectrum Mall in Phoenix. His family believes he was targeted for being Filipino, though Phoenix police said they do not have evidence or information to indicate the attack was motivated by bias.

Fears were further raised following the Atlanta area mass shooting on March 18 when a gunman opened fire at three spas, killing eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent.

One in four Americans, including nearly half of Asian Americans, in recent weeks, have seen someone blame Asian people for the coronavirus epidemic, a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll found. The nationwide survey was taken Thursday and Friday in the wake of the recent shootings.

The actual number of anti-Asian incidents is most likely much higher because many incidents go unreported, Jeung said.

Story adapted from The Arizona Republic, March 29, 2021