What you should know
- The national increase in attacks against the Asian and Pacific Islander (or AAPI) community during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked concern across not only the United States, but the world.
- In February, it was founded by the group of runners Chinatown Runners, which aspires to support the AAPI community in New York City through careers.
- This past Sunday, runners gathered in Brooklyn and raced to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, an ice cream parlor, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, to celebrate National Ice Cream Day.
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NEW YORK – The national increase in attacks against the Asian and Pacific Islander (or AAPI) community during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked concern across, not just the States. United, but the world.
The increase in these hate attacks has motivated many people to help the community. Some showed their support by attending protests and using #StopAsianHate on social media. While other people bought from companies with owners of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. But, for Victoria Lo, running was her way of supporting and helping this community.
In February, it was founded by the group of runners Chinatown Runners, which aspires to support the AAPI community in New York City through careers.
“Being Chinese-American and also being a part of this great running community, I wanted to create a community safe space that would also overlap with the running communities that I am involved in,” Lo said.
“In a way, that’s how I was able to give back to the communities that mean a lot to me and my heritage.”
Every month, the Chinatown Runners group of runners gathers to participate in a run through the city. The group offers two different distances and accepts runners of all levels.
The beginning of each run is different. But, the group always ends up in a central neighborhood in the Asian and Pacific Islander community that says Lo is an important part of the movement.
“The best part [de las carreras] It’s getting people into neighborhoods they could run through and don’t, ”Lo said. “[Animo a] the people they meet, not just the streets and routes they pass through, but also the people and communities that live on them. “
Chinatown Runners have run in various AAPI neighborhoods in New York City, such as Flushing in Queens and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
This past Sunday, runners gathered in Brooklyn and raced to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, an ice cream parlor, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, to celebrate National Ice Cream Day.
This last bullfight took place just days before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, where a spectacular team of runners and athletics will participate.
For this run, Chinatown Runners partnered with other local running groups, such as the Brooklyn Running Company.
“I recently moved to Brooklyn and was looking for different organizations that I could run with,” said Jessica Von Hertsenberg. “It seemed to me that it was for a good cause.”
Meanwhile, Rebekah Tonthat, another runner new to Chinatown Runners, said that both the good cause and the ultimate prize, ice cream, were the reasons for participating in the race.
“Well, I love ice cream and I love Chinatown,” Tonthat said. “It is very important to me to defend the AAPI community.”
An April report found that hate crimes committed against the AAPI community increased by 169% across the country. New York saw the largest increase, with an increase of 223%.
Lo believes these attacks can be attributed to decreased foot traffic in AAPI neighborhoods, as well as stigmas on AAPI individuals reinforced during the pandemic.
“There was a big drop in foot traffic and I think the more people come back to these communities, the safer the streets will start to be,” Lo said.
However, Lo suggests that getting to know these communities is one step that runners and non-runners alike can take to end the attacks and discrimination faced by the AAPI community.
In addition to promoting the community, Lo also uses these tours as a way to attract foot traffic to the neighborhoods they pass through.
“I think the little things you can do are things like go to a business that you’ve walked through a dozen times that you never really thought much about,” Lo said. “Just go in and see what it’s all about [el negocio] it means a lot”.
He said that all the “little things” that people can do, “really add up.”
Although Chinatown Runners seeks to promote awareness of discrimination and hate attacks faced by the AAPI community, the movement also highlights other charitable causes. In June, all donations raised by Chinatown Runners went to the Prism Foundation, a non-profit organization that allocates resources to LGBTQIA + people in need.
“In the AAPI community, I can personally say that there is still a lot of support for LGBTQ + people,” Lo said. “[Prism] It’s a promising organization that I felt was really worth highlighting. “
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