On Tuesday, March 16, a man shot and killed eight people in three different Asian-owned spas in Atlanta, Georgia.

Though investigators have not ruled out ultimately filing hate crime charges, they face legal constraints in doing so. "We would have just been told to work hard, be safe, get home before anything like this could happen", Perez-Wong said. "We are all connected, we are all human, and I think when we share human stories we realize the humanity in all of us", she said.

Speakers lamented the lack of progress through history when it comes to AAPI discrimination. Stop AAPI Hate, an organization which records incidents of violence and harassment that target Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, reported almost 3,800 incidents from last March to this past February.

People take part in a rally against hate and confront the rising violence against Asian Americans at Columbus Park in the Chinatown section of Manhattan borough of NY, on Sunday, March 21, 2021. "Many times Asian people are too silent, but times change", he said.

"It wasn't until President Biden came and issued that executive memorandum saying that the Asian community should be able to meet with the Department of Justice to provide solutions to these anti-Asian hate crimes that we were able to actually move forward".

Associated Press: "Biden, Harris offer solace, denouce racism in Atlanta visit" - "President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris offered solace to Asian Americans and denounced the scourge of racism at times hidden "in plain sight" as they visited Atlanta on Friday, just days after a white gunman killed eight people, majority Asian American women". "Since silence can lead to more death and more violence, as a community we cannot be silent anymore". Numerous attacks are related to bigoted notions linking Asians to the spread of coronavirus.

"I couldn't wait anymore", Hang said.

Candles and flickering penlights lit up the darkness as community leaders, local officials, concerned citizens and neighbors gathered to pay their respects and protest the escalation of anti-Asian violence and hate crimes that has largely gone unchecked since the pandemic began.

Lulu added it's her job to protect her daughter's future, and while she hasn't had many bad experiences, Lulu said it was important to show support for the Asian-American community. He said business owners were already grappling with a loss of revenue due to xenophobia and Asians being scapegoated for the coronavirus, so the "violence adds another layer of fear". "But we're so much more than that". "And just for one thing, I am proud to be Asian!"

Hires said he wants to see a "community response from people of all walks of life speaking up about this, stepping in and being an ally".

"Words can not express the pain and the fear that the Asian community is experiencing now", Hongmei Li, of Mason, said.

Almost 100 people participate in a Stop Asian Hate rally, marching along Harbor Drive in San Diego on Saturday.

"It looks racially motivated to me, but I'm not, you know, I'm- I'm not a police officer", Duckworth said.