On Saturday 24 July a series of protests organised by the Facebook community group Stop Asian Hate UK took place in London, Birmingham and Newcastle, to raise awareness about the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The London rally was held in Parliament Square and featured a wide range of speakers, including Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Streatham, David Tse Ka-Shing from the Covid-19 Anti-Racism Group (CARG), and Aidan Chan from Stop Asian Hate UK.
Speakers gave impassioned speeches, discussing the personal and widespread experiences of sexualisation, fetishization and racism faced by East and South East Asians.
Organisers of the event impressed upon attendees the importance of standing up to racism and fighting for change.
Those attending shared stories of their own, and joined together in chanting slogans such as “hear us clear, hear us loud, Asian hate is not allowed” and “this is what community looks like”.
