How one Chinatown curbs anti-Asian violence and unites a city
It’s another sunny Saturday in Oakland’s Chinatown, and Jessica Owyoung is addressing a volunteer foot patrol. Pay special attention to people at banks and bus stops, she says, as well as elderly pedestrians who may be slowly crossing the street. They are easy targets. Watch for suspicious vehicles that may be circling. Talk to business owners. Remember to distribute the multilingual booklets on how to report a hate crime. And maybe buy a boba (bubble tea) or lunch to support Chinatown eateries.
She asks for a show of hands on various issues from the more than 20 young people outfitted with neon-yellow safety vests. About half of them, from different racial backgrounds and ethnicities, are first-time volunteers. Four speak Cantonese, the predominant language of this city’s Chinatown. Three speak Mandarin. That’s great – enough to cover each group as they split up and begin patrolling the streets.
“Asian culture doesn’t show a lot of external appreciation,” Ms. Owyoung, one of the co-founders of Compassion in Oakland, a new service to chaperone older adults – or anyone else who feels vulnerable in this enclave – tells them. “Even if you can’t communicate, know that you are appreciated.”
The teams of chaperones are indeed making a difference, confirm merchants and residents, who are astounded at the unprecedented outpouring of help and media attention being shown the Asian American community after videos of violence went viral early in the year. No fewer than 14 groups are patrolling the city’s Chinatown district – residents and outsiders, Asian, Black, Latino, and white volunteers coming together to fight anti-Asian hate here and across the nation. It’s a show of unity in cities up and down California, which has the largest population of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the country. In the process, racial bridges are being built and a rising generation of AAPI are finding their voice in a movement – some say an awakening – unparalleled among Asians in
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