The Empire State Building in New York City, N.Y. was lit gold and black on Friday in solidarity with the AAPI community for the #StopAsianHate Virtual Day of Action and Healing, The Hill reports.
New York Representative Grace Meng (D), one of the organizers of the national event, worked alongside the Partnership for New York City nonprofit to arrange the light display
Besides the lighting of the Empire State Building, the #StopAsianHate Virtual Day of Action included a series of virtual discussions, events and panels and a social media campaign using the hashtag #StopAsianHate to bring awareness to the day and to anti-AAPI violence and hate. The day concluded with a worldwide vigil for the victims of the Atlanta shootings.
The organizers of the day of action chose the date March 26 with intention. This date was the anniversary of the Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790, which prohibited non-White people from becoming U.S. citizens.
“Over 200 years later, Asians in the U.S. are still suffering from the effects of the racism our country was founded upon,” the organizers wrote. “Asian elders are being physically assaulted in the streets. Asian American children are afraid to go back to school. We are still grieving the murders of 6 Asian women in a racially-motivated killing spree in Atlanta last week.”
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