San Francisco again faced the specter of anti-Asian hate as two major cases captured public attention this month.
On Friday, Asian American activists and community members rallied at the Hall of Justice against a judge’s decision to grant probation and mental health treatment, rather than issue a harsher sentence, to Daniel Cauich, who in 2021 stabbed Ahn “Peng” Taylor, a Chinese Vietnamese woman in her 90s. That was just weeks after the police department re-opened an investigation into the death of Yanfang Wu, an elderly Chinese immigrant who died after being pushed down on a sidewalk last year.
The cases were reminders of why concerns persist over violence against Asian Americans in San Francisco — and of why the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice still exists.
The coalition, a group of nonprofits serving the Asian American community, formed in 2019 in response to a wave of racially driven attacks. Its goals include increasing public safety through grassroots efforts like community-building and victim support, including for Taylor, Wu’s husband and about 80 other Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in this past year. The San Francisco Public Press accompanied staff from Community Youth Center, a coalition member, in the Richmond District in late 2023 during one of their frequent outreach events visiting Asian residents and businesses throughout the city.
That day, outreach workers ducked in and out of various stores on Clement Street, home to many Asian-owned businesses.
They tried talking to whomever they met: store owners, employees and sometimes people they passed on the sidewalk. They handed out flyers and small gifts like whistles and electronic keychains that played a siren with the press of a button.
Outreach worker Lida Vatanadilogkul checked in with Thai merchants. “I would let them know that if they need any resources or if they know anybody who has been a victim of a hate crime…
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