Cities Forge On to Protect Lunar New Year Celebrations After Shootings
Asian Americans show resilience and solidarity as they seek to support small businesses hit by the pandemic.
A vigil for the victims of the mass shooting at the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California.
Photographer: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesCity leaders and Asian-American communities are mobilizing to protect Lunar New Year celebrations across the country after two separate mass shootings in California.
Organizers in San Francisco, which is home to the oldest Chinatown district in the US, plan to press ahead with their annual parade in an effort to show resilience, said Harlan Wong, the director of the city’s Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said her city’s festivities would be observed “in solidarity” with those affected by the attack in Monterey Park, California on Jan. 21. The New York City Police Department increased its presence at celebrations in Chinatown on Sunday, while the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said security at any Lunar New Year event was a “top priority.”