At least 75 people attended the rally dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive space for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community following the March 16 Atlanta shooting. Photos by CLARISSE GUEVARRA, Staff Photographer

I’ve attended several rallies in previous years, but it wasn't until April 2 that I realized I'd never been a part of a movement focused on my own heritage. As a Filipino woman, I listened to a crowd cheer for unity among people of color. Especially as I took the stage myself, I was inspired by the determination in everyone's voices to change the status quo.

The AAPI Solidarity Rally was organized and co-hosted April 2 by the Chapman Activist Coalition and the OC Justice Initiative. Following the March 16 mass shooting of six women of Asian descent, a crowd of at least 75 gathered at the steps of Chapman University’s Leatherby Libraries to condemn Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate. Ryan Leano, a national coordinator for the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and a professor at California State University, Fullerton, took to the stage to address the rally attendees.

“The struggle … of systemic racism and other related problems is part of the Democratic struggle of all oppressed people,” Leano said at the event. “It’s not coincidental that we’re standing in front of that banner that says, ‘Protect, support, empower, implement, defend, teach, honor, celebrate, fund and live ethnic studies.’ Because that’s what I teach.”

Justice Crudup, founder of the OC Justice Initiative and a 2017 Chapman alumnus, played a prominent role in leading the rally down the streets of Orange. He fronted the crowd with a megaphone as the group marched to and from the Orange Plaza Park, located at the heart of the historic downtown. Chants of “Stop AAPI hate” and mantras of self-love and acceptance echoed through the streets.

Several Chapman University students and local Orange County residents spoke out about the importance of solidarity and the Stop AAPI Hate movement as a whole. 

“We’re not going to end racism by saying please. I’m here today because I am a queer Asian American woman tired of seeing (people like) myself murdered every week,” said Rozlind Silva, a member of Filipino youth community organization Bayanihan Kollective. “When you say stop anti-Asian hate and end white supremacy, that needs to be a commitment to justice and not an individual image of our ‘wokeness.’ It is not the lifespan of a hashtag.”