A one hour live town hall dedicated to the racist backlash felt by Asian Americans due to the coronavirus will be broadcast and streamed today by ABC7/KGO-TV in San Francisco at 4 pm Pacific/7 Eastern.
This may be the first time a major TV station has produced such an in depth and important program dedicated to this timely topic.
Anchors Kristen Sze and Dan Ashley will host the discussion along with anchor Dion Lim who will take audience questions live on Facebook throughout the show.
“This is an important one hour virtual town hall airing on TV, our site, and Facebook were we hope to have a frank discussion about how the facts about the virus should not lead us to hate and vitriol, no matter who you are,” said Tom Cibrowski, President and General Manager of ABC7. “We will strive to understand where the disconnect is, and talk about how we can do better. Our Values as ABC7 and The Walt Disney Company can drive this conversation and we can represent the important spirit of inclusion and belonging that the Bay Area is known for.”
Panelists include Asian American blogger Jeff Yang; Cynthia Choi, co-Executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action; Russell Jeung, chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State; Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of the San Francisco Bay Area; Aimee Allison, president of Democracy in Color; actor Tzi Ma of Mulan; California Assemblyperson Evan Low; Jacqueline Martinez Garcel of the Latino Community Foundation; Kyle Navarrow, a registered nurse who has experienced coronavirus racism first hand; Jeff Rosen, Santa Clara County District Attorney; Instagram influencer @jackfroot; and Paul Saffo of Stanford University.
Those not in the Bay Area or not in front of a TV may watch on abc7news.com, the ABC7 News App, ABC7 News Bay Area YouTube Channel and Apple News.
Questions may be submitted on the ABC7 News Facebook Page and the station’s Instagram page.
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