Rallies planned for Lower Mainland by Burnaby woman standing up to anti-Asian hate

A coalition founded in B.C. by a woman committed to stopping anti-Asian racism across Canada says it is planning 15 small rallies across B.C.'s Lower Mainland Monday to denounce anti-Asian hate and foster inclusiveness.

The majority of the rallies, which will involve groups of five people standing physically distanced from one another with signs, will take place at 3 p.m. PT outside SkyTrain stations.

Doris Mah founded the Stand With Asians Coalition (SWAC) in late April in Burnaby after sitting at her kitchen table and hearing on the news that there was a 350 per cent increase of incidents of anti-Asian racism in Burnaby related to the pandemic.

"I had to do something about it," she said.

She heard of people being harassed at her local grocery store and saw videos online of people suffering. Her mother, who wore a mask out in public before Canada promoted the measure, said she felt uncomfortable with people staring at her.

Mah decided to take action by founding the coalition with members of her community. She then reached out to her city asking for a proclamation naming May 10 as a day of action against Asian racism.

'I'm just a mom'

Mayor Mike Hurley agreed to the proclamation, which says, "we must embrace diversity, celebrate culture and creativity, foster belongings and participation, and adapt well to a changing world."

After finding success with the City of Burnaby, Mah reached out to 1,000 municipalities across Canada asking for a similar proclamation. She says 30 have responded, including Toronto and Ottawa, which have committed to the cause. 

"I never knew the cities would come on so fast," said Mah.

"I'm not a politician, I'm just a mom who is concerned about my Safeway five blocks away, where I go weekly, where a woman was harassed because she is Asian. It could have been me."

Day of action in dozens of municipalities

Vancouver also committed to a proclamation, and has said anti-Asian hate crimes increased 717 per cent during the first year of the pandemic.

In May 2020, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart also made a proclamation that the city is committed to addressing racism and hate, after a dramatic increase in anti-Asian racist and xenophobic incidents.

Data from the Vancouver Police Department shows the number of anti-Asian hate crimes rose from a dozen incidents in 2019 to 98 in 2020, while general hate incidents nearly doubled. 

Vancouver police confirmed that the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes coincided with the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in March 2020. 

In late March of this year, 500 people gathered at Vancouver's Art Gallery to denounce the hate.

Several other cities in B.C. have also made proclamations denouncing the racism and pledging programs to help combat it.

The City of Victoria has declared Monday a Day of Action Against Anti-Asian Racism and Isabelle Lee, who runs the Victoria chapter of the Facebook group Mah founded, said that's a start.

"That's just one step ... to declare the day, but it is a really good step to show their solidarity," said Lee during an interview on CBC's On The Island.

Lee said the Victoria group was created four weeks ago and has over 1,000 members.

Mah says SWAC is working to unite municipalities across the country in acknowledging the impact of anti-Asian racism and develop policies against it.

Mah says dozens of municipalities across Canada have plans to mark a day of action against anti-Asian racism on Monday.

"This is a very peaceful rally," she said. "Our signs say, 'Love not Hate.'"

Mah wants people to report anti-Asian racism to authorities if they see it.