By Shirley Ng, AsAmNews Staff Writer
On Sunday, New York’s first AAPI parade marched down 6th avenue to show that Asian Americans are a part of mainstream America. The month of May also happens to be Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The parade’s organizer William Su of Better Chinatown, Inc., told WPIX he always envisioned a larger Asian American parade in NYC for many years, but it was only three weeks ago that the city gave him green the light for the AAPI parade. This parade comes at a crucial time when hate crimes against Asians have risen at an alarming level.
Grand Marshal NYC Mayor Eric Adams spoke at the start of the parade.
“To be able to march and celebrate, this is your way of showing not only your political strength, but it shows how you are very much part of this fiber of this city, ” he said.
“Hate has no place in NYC,” he added.
The Mayor was joined at the start by other local NYC officials and leaders; John Park of the Korean American Community Empowerment Council, US State Senator Chuck Schumer, Queens District 20 Councilmember Sandra Ung, Manhattan Borough President, Mark Levine and former Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao.
There was also a moment of silence at the start to remember the 10 victims in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY just a day earlier.
Many diverse groups representing their heritage from China, Korea, Japan, India, Thailand and more participated in the parade. The AAPI parade comes one day after the very first Japan Day parade in New York City.
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