At least 95 Asian Americans were attacked in the United States’ largest cities in the first quarter of 2021 alone, according to a recent study by California State University, San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
Many of the victims of the unprovoked attacks are Asian American senior citizens and women.
This is a 164% increase compared to the previous year, and United States officials are alarmed.
Among them is Rob Bonta, the newly-appointed attorney general of California.
Bonta, who was born in Quezon City, is the first Filipino-American to hold this position.
The former member of the California State Assembly was appointed in April by California Governor Gavin Newsom after the state’s previous attorney general was appointed to the cabinet by US President Joe Biden.
Current United States Vice President Kamala Harris previously served as California’s attorney general before running for the US Senate in 2016.
As California’s top state lawyer, Bonta will have the power to oversee the enforcement of cases filed against perpetrators of hate crimes.
What does Bonta plan to do about the rising violence against Asian Americans? Rappler talks to him about the issue, what it means to be the first Fil-Am attorney general of California, and how his experience as a first generation Fil-Am has shaped his worldview.
Catch the interview on Monday, May 10, at 2 pm. – Rappler.com
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