By Romana Lee-Akiyama, Deputy Director, Office of Immigrant Affairs
The initial numbers from the 2020 Census data are out, and Philadelphia has experienced a 5.1% growth. Gains in the Hispanic and Asian populations are responsible for driving this growth, with 36% and 39% respective increases in each group1. Philadelphia is growing in both its size and diversity.
As City leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are holistically addressing the needs of the public that we serve, and that includes when populations shift and grow, and being finely attuned to these dynamics and tensions. The needs of the community last year were loud and pronounced as many in our city experienced a racial awakening through the deeply painful tragedy of George Floyd’s murder. Similarly, the tragedy in Atlanta that impacted the AAPI community nationally forced us to really look at our inequitable systems and structures. Sadly, it oftentimes takes a tragedy and display of gross injustice to force a change in society.
In the case of the Atlanta massacre, the conversation finally opened up for us to pay attention to what the AAPI community was saying from the beginning of COVID-19 — that they do not feel safe, that they are being targeted due to their race, that the former President of the U.S. was using reckless and irresponsible language to blame a people group for a global pandemic. Not surprisingly, the hate and vitriol came to an all-high public peak after the Atlanta shooting when in a one-month period of time, nearly 3,000 incidents of hate and violence were reported to the national website Stop AAPI Hate.
It has been over 18 months since the Stop AAPI Hate website was founded, and in their latest report, we learned that 9,081 reports of hate and violence have been recorded since March 2020. In Philadelphia, we found that 44% of all hate-related incidents and crimes reported to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations have impacted AAPI community members. One-third of these incidents were physical assaults.
What is the City of Philadelphia doing about it?
We recognized that in order to make headway, we had to break down our silos and the internal government structures that were hindering us. We had to open up the lines of communication to make sure that different city agencies and departments who had the power to make a difference in outcomes for our AAPI residents, in particular, could share information and resources. We had to make this more than a problem for the police department to solve. As we know, the police are often handed all of society’s ills to manage with not enough resources and not the right tools.
Under the Office of Immigrant Affairs’ leadership, we invited colleagues to help us strategize, brainstorm, evaluate and assess where we could work together. We’ve activated a strategy group of top-level City leaders to Stop AAPI Hate and Violence. City agencies that participate in this group include Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Managing Director’s Office, Office of Violence Prevention, the Office of Criminal Justice, the Mayor’s Office, the Mayor’s Office of Communications, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Philadelphia Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, the School District of Philadelphia and City Council leadership. This group coordinates policies, actions, and responses from City agencies, departments and offices. We seek to build a holistic response to AAPI hate and violence through prevention, victim-centered, culturally competent and racially just interventions, and post-trauma care for individuals and the community.
Lastly, we’ve supported the development of an AAPI City Resource Group with a mission to advance, build and celebrate a united Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander community within the City’s workforce by championing racial, economic and language justice and representing the AAPI community by informing policy and honoring cultural diversity. We wholeheartedly embrace diversity within our AAPI community, and seek to stand in solidarity with other marginalized communities.
Call to Action
As we head into Welcoming Week this year, the theme of “Belonging Begins with Us” has never felt more relevant. And while this year has been filled with many moments that have broken our hearts, the power of building community and coming together to repair what has been broken is going to let our AAPI siblings and other marginalized residents know that they belong here. The Office of Immigrant Affairs invites you to attend one or two of the events during Welcoming Week that focus on the AAPI community. If you’re a City employee and want to learn more, sign up to join the AAPI City Resource Group or join the Strategy Group discussions to contribute to the city-wide effort.
- https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-population-2020-census-growth-race-black-white-hispanic-asian-20210812.html
