Medium, Jun 30, 2020
“Tessa Xuan and Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership were concerned with the rise in hate incidents targeting Asian Americans in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and all across Ohio. They led a sign-on letter with hundreds of signatories to demand action from their elected officials. They sent the letter to the governor, state legislators, local city council members, and public officials throughout the state of Ohio and asked that they stand in solidarity with the 350,000 Ohioans who have Chinese, Asian, or Pacific Islander heritage to speak out against hate.
Their advocacy and message worked. Since sharing the letter, a Senator released a public statement against anti-Asian hate and legislators introduced two new bills in the Ohio State House focused on combating anti-Asian racism and establishing an Ohio AAPI Affairs Commission. OPAWL also launched the #IWillEatWithYou campaign to encourage community care while showing solidarity with everyone impacted by anti-Asian racism during the pandemic.”