MAY 18, 2020
May Lee, Apolo Ohno, Baron Davis And More Join #HATEISAVIRUS Virtual Rally Against Hate and Racism
Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 2020: #HATEISAVIRUS, the grassroots movement tackling hate against Asian Americans fueled by COVID-19, is hosting “Raise A Million”, a virtual rally calling for the community to stand against racism and xenophobia and raise $1 million in support of small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The livestream will be on May 23 at 9pm EDT/6pm PDT and will feature May Lee, Apolo Ohno, Baron Davis among other notable advocates, actors, performers, and community organizers.
A core component of the rally will be to highlight various Asian-led small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19, starting with restaurants in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York area. The small business initiatives highlighted and supported through the event include Olympian Mirai Nagasu’s family restaurant, Sons of Thunder in NYC, Little Tokyo Community Center and more. Every $15,000 raised for this fund will help support a restaurant keep their lights on for an additional month.
The rally is formed in response to how the pandemic has spurred an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans with over 1,710 total reports at the time of this press release. So much so that the FBI issued a warning to law enforcement about a rise in hate crimes. Furthermore, Asian-led small businesses saw the effects of the xenophobia with up to an 80 percent drop in business months before the government even mandated shelter-in-place.
“I had the opportunity to work with the most incredible restaurant owners, operators, and chefs over the years during my time filming Worth It. It breaks my heart to see the impact of COVID-19 on these restaurants and I hope we can work together and do what we can to support them.”
- Steven Lim, Co-Founder of Watcher Entertainment and Creator and Host of BuzzFeed’s flagship food & travel show, Worth It
The #HATEISAVIRUS team is leveraging interactive technology from Twitch and Zoom to digitally recreate the experience of an in-person rally. For instance, viewers are encouraged to create and share their custom posters on social media, whether hand-made or digital, to show that they stand in solidarity with the movement. The rally will also open with a performance and chant by Year Of The Ox, known for their song, “Viral” in response to the racism against Asian Americans.
“We’ve had to pull together this movement and event series completely virtually due to the shelter-in-place mandate. It’s been truly beautiful to witness our community mobilize and find creative ways to stand together and make our voices heard despite the unique constraints of the pandemic.”
- Tammy Cho, Co-Founder of #HATEISAVIRUS
Though organized and launched fully online, the movement has still made over 5 million impressions to date with the support of community leaders and advocates including Leonard Wu, Megan Lee, Tim Chiou, Elle Korea, Maulik Pancholy, and more.
“Our goal for the Raise A Million virtual rally is to help empower our communities with tools, resources and donations that will have an immediate positive impact on small business owners. We must be there to support each other no matter what.”
- Bryan Pham, Co-Founder of #HATEISAVIRUS
“We see the importance of art and how it can bring communities together. Art is a form of healing. Once COVID-19 is over, and people begin to live their normal lives again, will the effects on our Asian American community disappear as well? No, we will be dealing with this for much longer — and our efforts will need to go towards rebuilding and healing.”
- Michelle K. Hanabusa, Co-Founder of #HATEISAVIRUS
Click here for more details and to register for “Raise A Million”.
The list of notable participants for the event:
May Lee, acclaimed journalist and host
Mike Murase, co-founder of GIDRA, one of the early Asian-American movements
Ludi Lin, actor known for roles including Black Mirror and Aquaman
Renee Tajima-Pena, producer of the acclaimed new PBS documentary, Asian Americans
Apolo Ohno, eight-time Olympic medalist
Amanda Nguyen, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and activist, founder of RISE
Baron Davis, former NBA player and studio analyst for the NBA on TNT
Chris Pan, Founder of MyIntent.org
Mari Takahashi, ballerina, gamer and YouTuber
YOONJ, social impact correspondent at MTV News
YOX, artist
MILCK, artist
...and more
If interested in connecting, please contact hello@hateisavirus.world.
About #HATEISAVIRUS
#HATEISAVIRUS is a grassroots movement to combat racism and xenophobia fueled by COVID-19. The movement aims to raise awareness of these hate crimes and rally communities to stand against them, educate and equip communities with tactical strategies on how to respond to the hate and racism, and raise $1 million to provide relief to small, Asian-led businesses impacted by COVID-19.
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Tammy Cho