Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do successfully passed a resolution Tuesday that declared racism a health crisis, reports LAist.
Do, a Republican, authored the measure with fellow Supervisor Doug Chafee, a Democrat.
The five-member board passed the measure unanimously. According to KABC, hate crimes increased 165% in Orange County in 2021, with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders disproportionately impacted.
Do spoke firsthand about the racism he’s faced.
“I cannot tell you how many times, as I was running…how many batteries were thrown at me. How many bottles narrowly missed my head,” he said, reported Voices of OC.
As AsAmNews reported last year, during a meeting a member of the public accused the Vietnamese American of “trying to turn our country into a communist country.”
“I think it brings to the fore, this kind of thing, to me racism, or racist thoughts, that people are quick and ready to go there whenever they disagree with a person of color,” he told AsAmNews last year.
More than 250 governing bodies have passed similar resolutions across the country including Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in Southern California.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. December 3 is Giving Tuesday. Will you consider a tax-deductible donation to Asian American Media Inc and AsAmNews?
Please follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.