Both incidents point to the ongoing racial animus targeting the AAPI community and the impacts of racist political rhetoric ahead of the November elections.
The Source, an LGBTQ+ community resource center in Visalia, celebrated National Coming Out Day with an art installation that lit up the night sky in rainbow hues.
“We don’t use the words 'Stop Hate,' but this entire exhibit is about uplifting stories about Asian American folks that often don’t get heard,” said Miko Lee.
With California hate crimes nearly doubled since 2019, local leaders have sparked nationwide efforts to fight hate at the grassroots level amid low prosecution rates.
