In an effort to raise awareness about systemic racism against members of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American (APID/A) community, more than 30 people gathered outside San Jose State on Fourth
Street Friday.
Nutritional science junior Nina Chuang said she organized “Not your Thirty Four” rally to discuss SJSU’s lack of education on hate and violence toward the APID/A community.
“I see that on [SJSU] campus we don’t really have many instances where our community really comes together and speaks with one voice,” Chuang said.
The rally’s title was inspired by SJSU’s 34% Asian American student enrollment, according to Chuang’s website about the rally.
Protesters gathered next to Yoshihiro Uchida Hall (YUH) to hear local leaders acknowledge SJSU’s role in past discriminatory events.
YUH was used as a registration center to send Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II, according to a 2014 SJSU Newsroom blog post about the building.
“What was the worst anti-Asian action that
has taken place was
that of SJSU?” asked Rev. Jethroe Moore, president of the
San Jose/Silicon Valley National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), during the rally. “We used to begin unconditional imprisonment of all the 6,000 Japanese people, [that] started right here.”
The NAACP chapter is located in Milpitas and advocates for
civil rights within minority communities.
Rally attendees marched around the perimeter of campus after listening to the speakers, calling on the local community to stop anti-Asian hate and holding signs with phrases including “not your model minority.”
Alex Spielmann, a
De Anza college student and attendee who plans
on transferring to SJSU next spring played
his drums as rally participants marched downtown.
“There was this moment when we were marching and I was playing my drum and
I heard people’s voices from in front of me and behind me and it was just this indescribable feeling like this is where I belong,” Spielmann said.
Spielmann said he was touched by the amount of people who showed up to support the APID/A community.
“These people, these strangers, I don’t know very many of them,” Spielmann said. “People who I’ve never met before have my back and are willing to stand up for me and protect me,” Spielmann said. “And it was just, like, chills.”
SJSU public health senior Maileen Mamaradlo said she attended to support the APID/A community and hold SJSU accountable for its treatment toward minority groups.
“Even deep down to our roots, our institution has a lot of issues with [APID/A] populations and now it’s our job to remind the campus of the damage it has done not only to the Black communities with Gregory Johnson but
also ours as well,” Mamaradlo said.
Jenny Nguyen, a public health graduate student, said in addition to listening to local leaders, she appreciated hearing people open up about their personal experiences regarding “what it means to be an Asian American person or Asian person living in the U.S. right now.”
She also hopes SJSU students can continue standing in solidarity with the APID/A community.
“[SJSU] students are extremely resilient . . . I think that’s something the tone of our
organizers . . . mentioned earlier, is that it’s going to take a lot of work and we need to stay committed to the cause,” Nguyen said.
