'Long Overdue:' Stop Asian Hate Rally In Princeton

PRINCETON, NJ — The hundreds gathered at the Stop Asian Hate rally in Princeton came with one goal in mind. They came to seek visibility.

“For decades upon decades Asian Americans have been silenced — no, erased — from the textbooks of American history. Forgotten. Cast aside. Invisible. To my fellow Asian Americans, now is the time to seek visibility,” said Jennifer Lee, co-president of the Asian American Students Association at Princeton University, at the rally.

"We are not your model minority. We never have been, and we never will be,” she said.

“Our stories are long overdue,” said Lee, who was among the few speakers at the rally held on Saturday to condemn hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community.

Hundreds gathered at Hinds Plaza, and part of Witherspoon Street was shut down to accommodate the large crowd.

The rally began at 1 p.m. with a speech from Reverend Robert Moore from the Coalition for Peace Action, followed by a prayer led by Rev Pastor Mia Chang of NextGen Church.

David Chao, director of the Asian American Program at Princeton Theological Seminary, listed the names of the eight victims of the shooting in Atlanta, Georgia.

He asked the crowd to maintain a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims.

Sam Wang, a neuroscientist from Princeton University spoke about the need for solidarity. “There are so many different Asian communities – East Asian, South East Asian, South Asian. All these communities have to come together in solidarity. And that’s what we are doing today.”

With Asians being among the fastest growing communities in New Jersey, Wang spoke about ways to “turn growth in population to growth in representation.”

“The only way to do that is combining solidarity and voting, but also through coalition,” he said.

The rally saw crowds maintaining social distancing while wearing masks and holding signs. Organizers distributed sticker and incense sticks to light in memory of the Atlanta shooting victims.

Throughout the rally, many speakers emphasized on the need for schools to educate children on cultural competency and racial literacy.

“It is important that we disrupt this hate,” said Cecilia Birge, assistant principal, Princeton High School. “It starts with clearly creating environments where education matters more than anything we do on any given day.”

Birge, the former mayor of Montgomery Township, also leads the Princeton Chinese Community, who organized the rally.

Zoey Nuland, a Chinese American eighth grader at Princeton Unified Middle School, presented an original poem. Yingying Zhao, a recent Princeton High School graduate addressed the symbolism around her name.

Zhao spoke about the numerous instances where her name was made fun of and how she hopes to reclaim its cultural significance.

“Therefore, I say Yingying means ‘Listen to me America, this is your reckoning.’”

Since the metro Atlanta massage parlor shootings on March 16, various rallies were held in New Jersey towns, including Mahwah and Maplewood.

On Saturday, an anti-Asian hate rally was held at Basking Ridge, where community members shared their experiences and said crimes against Asians was "not unprecedented." They spoke about The Chinese Exclusion Act — signed into law in 1882 - that prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States. Although repealed in 1943, many detailed the microaggressions they continue to face.

In Teaneck, the BLM Mural Committee along with the Asian Student Union and a coalition of other organizations held a candlelight vigil and rally for Asian lives.

Mayors and school districts also released statements in support of the Asian American community.

Over the past year, Asian American advocates have expressed concern over the rise of violence against the AAPI community.

Stop AAPI Hate was formed in March 2020 to help prevent discrimination against the community.

The group released a report saying they received 3,795 reports of hate incidents between March 19, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021.

The rally and vigil in Princeton was jointly organized by are groups including Princeton Chinese Community, Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Princeton University, Central Jersey Chinese American Association, La Convivencia – New Jersey, Montgomery Township Equity and Inclusion Committee, New Jersey Vietnamese American Community Association, Princeton Progressive Chinese Americans, Princeton Theological Seminary's Asian American Program, Princeton University Chinese American Parents Association, Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association, Not in Our Town, Our Revolution Trenton, Mercer Rotary Club of Princeton, and United Chinese Americans – New Jersey.

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