New Yorkers March Against Rising Hate and Violence

Hundreds of local residents, civic leaders and business owners joined the Flushing Hate Free Zone campaign to stand up against hate and violence on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Participants representing the wide diversity of the Flushing community marched in a somber procession from La Jornada food pantry at Prince Street and Roosevelt Avenue to Flushing High School at Union Street and Northern Boulevard in Queens, New York.

The volunteers at La Jornada have fed more than 10,000 hungry New Yorkers a week during the pandemic and witnessed the death of an elderly Asian American man who passed away on Prince Street in November 2020 as he was sleeping in his makeshift cardboard box home. Flushing bore the brunt of anti-Asian bigotry and scapegoating during the pandemic and many small businesses were forced to close as many visitors stayed away. Public schools like Flushing High School also suffered from declining enrollment and will institute austerity measures as the Mayor and the City Council cut $1 billion from education spending in next year's budget.

Marchers wore white and carried photos of recent victims of gun violence.

"We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters suffering from hate and violence," stated Pedro Rodriguez, Executive Director of La Jornada. "We humbly ask God to guide us as we continue to dismantle the evils of racism and violence in our nation and, in doing so, honor the image of God in all of us."

The march comes on the heels of the deadliest shooting in New York, the May 14th terror attack in which a white supremacist killed 10 African-Americans in Buffalo, and the May 24th mass murder of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, as well as dozens of incidents of hate crimes against Asian Americans, Jewish synagogues, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and people of color in New York City and across the country.

"Minkwon is proud to sponsor this event in the wake of the mass murder of 19 children and two of their teachers in Uvalde, Texas," stated John Park, Executive Director of the Minkwon Center for Community Action. “The work to ensure that Flushing becomes a hate-free zone starts by bringing communities together.”

The march is part of the Flushing Hate Free Zone, a collaborative project led by Minkwon and the Flushing Chamber that seeks to bridge the racial divide and proactively prevent incidents of hate crimes and violence – a trend that has only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in neighborhoods like Flushing, Queens.

“The pandemic exposed massive social inequities and unleashed tremendous fear and uncertainty among Americans,” stated John Choe, executive director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce. “We must resurrect the vision of the 1657 Flushing Remonstrance in which early settlers stood up against Peter Stuyvesant’s persecution of minorities and turn back the tide of darkness flooding our country. Flushing’s residents are once again standing in the light and offering a model for peaceful coexistence.”

The march is kicking off a series of educational events and community activities organized by the Flushing #HateFreeZone Campaign during Immigrant Heritage Month.

"How do we deal with institutional or structural racism? How do we stop anti-Asian hate? APACE is working to educate and advocate for our rich heritage, culture, and history. We need to get to the root of racism by educating the public," stated Soh Young Lee-Segredo, President of the Asian Pacific American Council of Educators(APACE). "We need to join with other Americans and speak up for equal funding in our schools for Asian American immigrant history and contributions."

The march was sponsored and organized by the Minkwon Center for Community Action, the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, the Flushing Interfaith Council, La Jornada food pantry; the Free Synagogue of Flushing; the Healing Hearts Ministry of Macedonia AME Church, Flushing High School, and the Baháʼí Community of Queens.

“Hate has always been a disease in the history of humanity,” stated Mirna Velasquez of the Baháʼí Community of Queens. “It is our duty to teach the younger generation and our fellow citizens the importance of implementing ethical values among different ethnic groups. We have resources available in our communities to raise our concerns and protect legally those who have no voice.”