Seattle to spend $5 Million of ‘COVID relief’ on fighting anti-Asian bias

A Washington state Democrat stated this week that his jurisdiction will spend $5 million of cash supposed for coronavirus reduction to fight anti-Asian hate crimes in and round Seattle.

It comes after a mass shooter killed eight in Atlanta final week, together with six Asian American ladies, in addition to native violence concentrating on Asian Americans. The alleged Atlanta gunman denied racism as a motive, and authorities have been “sex addiction” as a doable clarification.

King County Executive Dow Constantine stated throughout a information convention Monday that the coronavirus pandemic had led to explicit hardship for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities within the space – and blamed it on “White supremacy” and former President Donald Trump.

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“The shame of racist smears and slurs from the former president of the United States during this public health crisis clearly ignited some of what was simmering beneath the surface and made the systemic inequities and discrimination worse and helped fuel the rise of hate that we’re seeing in this community and across the nation today,” he stated. “White supremacy and hate cannot be tolerated in King County, in Washington state, anywhere within the United States of America.”

To that finish, he introduced the funding.

“Today I’m announcing the first part of our American Rescue Plan funding, where we will provide $5 million dollars in grants to community-based organizations that will increase funding for anti-hate and bias response and support the Coalition Against Hate and Bias,” he stated.

The county encompasses the town of Seattle and far of its suburbs.

The funds will come out of greater than $400 million in taxpayer cash headed to King County as half of the American Rescue Plan, the most recent COVID-19 reduction package deal, which Congress handed alongside celebration traces, the Seattle Times reported this week.

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Separately, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee condemned anti-Asian racist assaults, which he stated have elevated within the state over the previous 12 months.

“This violent hate is not new – our Black, Indigenous and other communities of color have been victims of this insidious brand of cultural violence and White supremacy for centuries – but it remains no less urgent to defeat it,” Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted Monday.

Inslee’s remarks observe a separate spa capturing that left an Asian man injured in Renton, Washington, final week. Renton, a suburb of Seattle, additionally falls inside King County.