Texas Asian-American leaders join together to speak out against hate

AUSTIN, Texas - Asian-American leaders from the largest cities in Texas are joining together to stand against hate and demand action from state and local leaders.

The leaders are holding a news conference to address anti-Asian hate crimes that have been taking place across the U.S. since the spring of 2020. The news conference will be held at 10 a.m. (CT) and will be streamed on fox7austin.com and on the FOX 7 Austin Facebook page.

California-based reporting center for the Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Stop AAPI Hate, reports nearly 4,000 incidents from March 19, 2020, to February 28, 2021. It says Texas, which has a population of about 1.5 million Asians, was ranked fourth in the highest number of incidents with just more than 100 cases.

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Officials note some of the recent known attacks in Texas include a local San Antonio Asian American restaurant that was vandalized with graffiti, received death threats, and online negative reviews after comments on the mask mandate.

Another in Austin involved a local Asian-American-owned bakery that received threats and harassment after being featured in a viral Eater Austin article.

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Some resolutions have been passed locally and at the state level to address racism against the AAPI community but officials are asking elected leaders to do more. They're asking for actions including partnerships with local law enforcement, a public awareness campaign, and for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to establish a special commission to prevent and combat hate crime in Texas.