‘Hate needs to stop now’

KATU July 14, 2022

Several multicultural organizations and elected leaders came together Thursday after two instances of racially motivated attacks in the Portland area this month.

Members of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI), BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ communities were represented.

“These attacks are singularly horrifying because of their violence and threatening level of violence, but what is driving so much of our shared fear and anxiety is more commonplace,” said Chisao Hata, creative director for the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. “It’s the words, it’s the gestures, the sideways glances, insinuations and slurs shouted from across the street. This changes … this hate, is changing how we live our lives, and it needs to stop now.”

On July 2, a father and his 5-year-old daughter were attacked when riding their bikes on the Eastbank Esplanade.