A profound and historic gathering took place on Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Antioch, California, as Buddhist communities from across the nation convened for “May We Gather: A National Buddhist Pilgrimage for Asian American Ancestors.” Conceived by co-organizers Dr. Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han, and Rev. Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams in response to rising anti-Asian violence and vandalism of Asian American Buddhist temples in 2020 and 2021, May We Gather “offers an opportunity for Asian American and other Buddhist communities throughout the United States to come together in mourning, mending, and renewal.”
The first May We Gather event in May 2021 commemorated the 49-day anniversary of the Atlanta, Georgia spa shootings as well as anti-Asian violence throughout U.S. history. The May We Gather collective held other memorials on the 100-day and annual anniversaries, according to Buddhist memorial ritual schedules.
Saturday’s ceremony and pilgrimage, which marked the third anniversary of the Atlanta shootings, was held in Antioch, California, approximately 40 miles northeast of San Francisco. In 2021, Antioch became the first U.S. city to make a formal acknowledgement and apology for its history of anti-Asian discrimination and violence.
Co-organizer Funie Hsu linked the Atlanta shootings and the 1876 destruction of Antioch’s Chinatown: “We are here because the scapegoating of six Chinese women that incited the burning of Antioch’s Chinatown highlights a parallel to the six women of Asian descent who were blamed and killed in the Atlanta-area spa shootings. This shared connection between these two incidents emphasizes the ongoing legacy of anti-Asian and gender-based violence. It also underscores a context of Christian…
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