Hundreds of community activists and members of the Chinese American community rallied in Chinatown to speak out against racism inspired by COVET-19 or the coronavirus.
“We marched here at Union Square to tell other communities in the city that we are Chinese, not viruses,” said Kevin Chen, owner of the famed Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company, according to China.org. “The virus happened to occur in China, just as it could have in any other place in the world.”
Organizations from opposite ends of the political spectrum joined together to speak out against the backlash faced by some Asian Americans. Those organizations including the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Comfort Women Justice Coalition marched under the banner “Solidarity-Yes, Anti-Chinese racism-no.”
On Friday, Facebook announced the launch of a small fund for local businesses in San Francisco’s Chinatown to run ads to generate business, according to the Biz Journal. Traffic has dropped significantly as news about the COVET-19 has spread.
“We don’t want people to live in fear or to cancel their engagements,” Mayor London Breed said. “We want people to continue with gatherings they’ve coordinated, and we will continue to do our very best to keep you informed. …San Francisco is open for business.”
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