Stop Asian Hate Rally held in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Asian American groups came together in Lexington on Saturday to send a message of unity.

Chinese American, Japanese American, Korean American, and other groups spoke to the large crowd at Courthouse Plaza.

Organizer Changzheng Wang with the Kentucky Chinese-American Association wanted to unify the many Asian nations. He said the rally had two goals: “Stand up against Asian hate crimes and also to remember those victims of the anti-Asian crimes that happened in Atlanta and other parts of the country.”

Many speakers shared personal stories. They also shared their love for Lexington.

“This is our home, this is our neighborhood, we want to make it better for everybody,” Wang said.

But not everyone feels comfortable.

Yan Wang is from China. She’s one of the many people who have felt targeted since the beginning of the pandemic.

“To be honest with you, right now in Lexington, walking outside [sic] the street, I feel scared too because I feel sometime [sic] people will target me,” she said. “So I feel very sad and I feel very scared.”

She also said this gathering brought comfort. “Not only people within this community, but also people all across the nation, people across different communities. So I feel I’m supported and I feel more secure.”

Changzheng Wang said that’s all he wanted.

“I’m happy that our community, our leaders including the police chief, they were here with us, standing with us. Everyone had the word of standing with each other.”

Even though he saw people standing together on Saturday, he said real change will happen when we come together every day.

Asian American leaders have also met with city leaders to discuss growing safety concerns.