IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - More than 100 people gathered Sunday afternoon at an outdoor vigil on the Pentacrest in Iowa City to remember the eight victims of last week’s shootings in the Atlanta area.
Of the eight people killed Tuesday — Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue — six were women of Asian descent.
“We really wanted to have a space to emphasize that these Asian women and all of these eight victims really matter and they are human,” said Kayla Nguyễn, who organized the event along with other members of the University of Iowa’s Asian Pacific American Culture Center.
At the start of the vigil, a minute of silence was held for each of the eight people, and people set down flowers and flameless candles near signs with their names.
Speakers shared stories of their experiences with anti-Asian hate and the fear they said they are feeling right now for their own families.
While Nguyễn said those feelings are heightened right now, they noted the racism and xenophobia aimed at members of the Asian and Asian-American community have been present for centuries.
“It isn’t the first time, truthfully, that stuff like this has happened, but it is a really big watershed moment that is letting people recognize that this is happening,” Nguyễn said.
Some people in attendance brought signs to the vigil with messages like, “Stop Asian hate,” and, “Unite against racism.”
University of Iowa postdoc fellow Ashley Cheyemi McNeil and her partner, Kevin Asehan, made a sign featuring a quote from late author and social activist Grace Lee Boggs: “We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness.”
Asehan, who is Filipino, and McNeil, who is Japanese-American, said they felt it was necessary to attend Sunday’s vigil to support members of their community, many of whom are hurting right now.
“For my family and for many other Asian-American families that I know, we get really good at holding some of that in, and at a certain point, our communities reach a breaking point, and we’re at that point,” McNeil said.
Asehan pointed out the importance of that solidarity in Iowa, where more than 90% of the population identifies as White and less than 3% identifies as Asian or Pacific Islander, according to 2019 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“With the recent influx of Asian hate and racism, it’s tough. Sometimes, it just feels like we’re alone, so we have to show up for each other and for the community,” Asehan said.
Nguyễn said conversations about ending anti-Asian hate also need to include discussing ending anti-Blackness and white supremacy.
“The community needs to recognize that that’s a conversation that we need to have in order to progress and in order to make change,” Nguyễn said.
Organizers said they will work to bring people together to have those conversations and mobilize for change, including possibly holding rallies or solidarity marches in the future.
But for Sunday, the focus was on healing first.
“Reach out to their Asian friends and the AAPI community. Ask, ‘What can I do to help?’ instead of, ‘Are you OK?’” Nguyễn said. “Because no one knows if they’re OK or not.”
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'All of these eight victims really matter': Vigil remembers Atlanta shooting victims, demands end to anti-Asian violence - KCRG
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