On March 17, 2021 a coalition of renowned civil and human rights leaders from diverse racial, religious, and cultural communities in Los Angeles held a press conference addressing the recent rise in hate crimes, particularly those targeting Asian American communities.
Meeting at the south steps of LA County’s Hahn Hall of Administration, in addition to ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams the distinguished list of speakers included Asian Americans Advancing Justice President & CEO Connie Chung Joe, Los Angeles Urban League President & CEO Michael Lawson, Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Policy & Community Building Terra Russell-Slavin, CHIRLA Executive Director Angelica Salas, Chair of the LA County’s Board of Supervisors Hilda Solis, and Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations Executive Director Robin Toma, among several others.
Abrams spoke about the rise in anti-Asian sentiment, racism, xenophobia, conspiracy theories, and antisemitism in the year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant role extremists have played in spreading these hateful ideas and messages. He highlighted the importance of building strong intergroup coalitions, as well as ADL’s reporting on the issue and close work with law enforcement throughout the previous year.