Activism
COMMENTARY: Asian Americans, African Americans Know the Hate in America
You may have missed the statistics, though you may have felt it instinctively last August when the FBI released the news. Hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent rose by 70% in the U.S. The number of hate crimes targeting Blacks jumped 40%. All of it compared to 2019 levels. The trend is up. Double digits. We share the pain of racist hate.

By Emil Guillermo
This week, African Americans and Asian Americans are reminded of our common ground.
It’s Four A (or AAAA) level when it comes to hate in America.
You may have missed the statistics, though you may have felt it instinctively last August when the FBI released the news.
Hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent rose by 70% in the U.S.
The number of hate crimes targeting Blacks jumped 40%.
All of it compared to 2019 levels. The trend is up. Double digits.
We share the pain of racist hate.
For Asian Americans, much of it was due to being scapegoated by the twice-impeached president who used phrases like “Kung Flu” and “China Virus” to describe the pandemic.
The scapegoating by the White House essentially gave the public a signal to go after Asian Americans for way more than just the origins of the pandemic.
We’ve seen the attacks in and around Oakland’s Chinatown.
The group #StopAAPIHate first started logging instances of hate transgressions and found that in two years reports have grown from a modest 700 cases to nearly 11,000, ranging from verbal abuse and spitting to physical violence, including murder.
But the historical marker for this era of Asian American pain will always be Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021.
It was one year ago this week that six Asian American women of Korean descent were killed in what has become known as the “Atlanta spa killings.”
The homogenized phrase hides the real pain. We should know March 16, 2021 by the lives claimed.
Xaojie “Emily” Tan, 49. Tan owned Young’s Asian Spa in Cherokee County, Georgia, where the first part of the day’s shootings occurred. Tan also owned another spa, Wang’s Feet and Body Massage in Kennesaw, Georgia. She met her husband, Michael Webb, in Asia, and they came to America in 2006. The couple adopted a daughter, then divorced. Tan died a day before her 50th birthday.
Daoyou Feng, 44, worked at Young’s Asian Spa for just a few months.
Hyung Jung Grant, 51, worked at the Gold Spa and was a single mother of two sons. She had been a schoolteacher in South Korea.
Soon Chung Park, 74, made food for the employees at the Gold Spa. She had lived in New York before moving to Atlanta.
Suncha Kim, 69, worked at the Gold Spa and came to America in the 1980s. She was close to her family and worked several jobs to support them. A grandchild described her as a “fighter” and a “rock,” for the family.
Yong Ae Yue, 63, worked at the Aromatherapy Spa. She came to the U.S. in the 1970s from Korea where she met her husband, Mac Peterson, who was in the U.S. military.
Those are the names of the six Asian American women.
The person alleged to have committed all eight murders that occurred that day was convicted last July of the four deaths at Young’s in Cherokee County.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, took a plea deal to the four murders at Young’s and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 35 years. (Paul Andre Michels was also killed there that day.)
Long purchased a 9 mm handgun that very day, then went to a liquor store to buy alcohol. He drove to Young’s Spa and parked outside for an hour. He said the shootings weren’t about race, but rather his sex addiction overlaid with Christian guilt over premarital sex. That’s what they all say. Long said he went to the bathroom and came out shooting.
Long is then alleged to have driven to the two other spas, Gold’s Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta’s Fulton County where he is alleged to have killed Grant, Park, Kim and Yu.
While the Cherokee County DA did not seek hate crime enhancements, the Fulton County district attorney is seeking the death penalty and hate crime enhancements.
Long has pleaded not guilty. His next court appearance is in April.
And that’s where we are one year later. Still processing the pain, the hate and the evil.
March 16, 2021, was the day a young white man, angered and confused by religion and his sexuality, lashed out at six innocent Asian American women: Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, Daoyou Feng, Hyung Jung Grant, Soon Chung Park,Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue.
They were working people doing what immigrants with limited means are allowed to do in this country. But they were surviving, despite living in a society burdened by racism, sexism and white supremacy. They were alive.
Then, in an instant it was all over, gunned down by a 9mm in an act of zealous evil.
Asian Americans know the violent pain of racism. Hate is an experience we share in America.
Emil Guillermo talks about race and politics from an Asian American perspective at www.amok.com See it live at 2pm Pacific on Twitter @emilamok; YouTube; Facebook/emilguillermo/media.
Activism
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post
Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.
Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.
As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.
It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.
Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.
Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.
We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.
Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.
Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.
California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.
Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.
Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Poll: Tell Us What You Think About the Cost of Groceries in Oakland
Food banks and grocery giveaways are a large part of the resources nonprofits in Oakland prioritize, particularly in areas like East and West Oakland where low-income families of color tend to reside. These neighborhoods are often labeled as “food deserts” or communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.

By Magaly Muñoz
In 2023, the average spending on groceries increased by nearly $30 each month from the year before;people are spending over $500 a month to put food on the table.
Through previous reporting by the Post, we’ve learned that families in Oakland are depending more and more on free or low cost groceries from food banks because they can no longer afford the rising costs of food at the store.
Food banks and grocery giveaways are a large part of the resources nonprofits in Oakland prioritize, particularly in areas like East and West Oakland where low-income families of color tend to reside. These neighborhoods are often labeled as “food deserts” or communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.
We’ve recently spoken to families across these two areas of Oakland and have heard several stories that all point to one problem: food is expensive. Some individuals are spending upwards of $150 a week for themselves or double if they have teens or small children in the family.
We’ve also heard stories of people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure struggling to maintain their diets because they’re having a hard time affording the food that helps them stay healthy.
Do these experiences sound similar to what you or your family are dealing with every month? Are you struggling to afford your basic groceries every week? Do you depend on food banks to help you get by? Are there any chronic illnesses in your household that need to be managed by a special diet?
We want to hear about your experiences and ideas for solutions!
The Oakland Post is investigating food access in Oakland and how residents are surviving as the cost of living continues to increase. Your experiences will help shape our reporting and show local leaders the need to invest in our communities.
In order to get as much feedback as possible, we ask that you click this link to fill out a brief questionnaire or visit tinyurl.com/Oakland-Post-food-survey. You can also scan the QR code above to reach the survey. After you fill it out, please consider sharing the link with your friends and family in Oakland.
If you have questions, please reach out to our Oakland reporter Magaly Muñoz at mmunoz@postnewsgroup or text/call her at (510) 905-5286.
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