A “March for Asian Lives” organized by Elk Grove High School seniors Kaylyn Ahn and Georgeena Mathai drew a largely young, but diverse group to a strip of Asian-owned businesses in Arlington Heights last Friday.
The peaceful march was in reaction to the recent shootings of eight people in Atlanta, including six women of Asian descent, at three Asian spas.
Asian discrimination that came in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic was also on the minds of protesters and organizers. Ahn said she hoped to send the message that Asians are not to blame for the pandemic.
The group, which appeared to be between 70 and 100 people strong, included State Rep. Mark Walker (D-53rd) and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison (D-15th). It was largely attended by youth but drew participants of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
Walker told the Journal he was inspired by the march. “I was delighted and motivated because so many people are interested in doing the right thing,” he said. “We have to reframe our thinking on this. African Americans and immigrants believe in American values. They are the most hopeful and patriotic and get the short end of the stick.”
Walker said he hopes to see school curriculums be more inclusive in telling the American narrative.
“I congratulated the organizers,” Morrison said. “I was really impressed with how many youth came out (to the event). The youth are our future. With this rise of violence against the Asian community, we need knowledgeable youth to fight against it.”
At the rally, Morrison, who described himself as a “white cis-gendered male,” said, “We all have a part to play.” Morrison said at the county level, he worked to establish a county equity, bias, and cultural competency commission, from which the county hired an equity director who is beginning to hold bias training with county employees.
A particularly moving moment was the reading of the following poem by American University student Malien Tingpalpong:
“The bombs that fell on Saigon mean nothing to them.
And the ships that took my mother across the ocean
Have sunk to the bottom of the sea.
You see, when I’m asked where I’m from I say.
I’m from loss and pain and assimilation.
From sacrifice, taking alphabet classes in this alien nation,
Years of painting on a happy face with white-out,
Waiting tables, working in factories, and serving,
At the man who called us “chink.”
And now it’s China virus, Kung flu,
Donald Trump and white supremacists,
Asian existence is an accumulation of this nation’s notion that we meant to be a model minority,
A person on the sidelines,
Quiet, on time
Whose life is perfectly timed with a zodiac sign,
But these crimes against us enshrine fear,
Half of me is diving into the ocean that saved us,
While the other half is met with a reality,
A blurry image of the Land of the Free,
The part of my family that is lost at sea.
The bombs are at us again except in a country that promised my refugee family safety
The bombs are at us again except it’s you who are dropping them
The bombs are falling and we are dying.”
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