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Amidst the increasing racist attacks against the Asian community, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria paid a special visit today and handed out Yellow Whistles to Asian seniors. About one hundred people attended the event at CCBA Senior Garden, which was organized by ACA, APAPA and CCBA. Ms. Sunny Rickard, President of ACA, opened the event by speaking about the rising hate crimes against AAPI community and encouraged the seniors to blow the whistle when in danger. Holding up a yellow whistle, Ms. Rickard described it as a symbol of hope and optimism, as well as a tool for self-defense.  When Mayor Gloria spoke, he declared, ‘There is no part of my job that’s more important than keeping our community safe. As your mayor, we are making sure our police department is fully funded’.  With SDSU Professor Lilly Chen as his Chinese translator, Mayor Gloria reminded everyone, ‘we can all play a role in reducing crime today’. ‘I’m part of the Filipino community. I recognize it’s in our culture there is a desire for independence, for self-reliance, that causes me for not coming forward when bad things happen. I want you to resist that, and really engage in this issue by coming forward if you are a victim of crime, and if you witness a crime’, because, ‘it’s not just about you, it’s about our community. If we don’t look after ourselves, who will.’  Following the speech, Mayor Gloria walked around and handed whistles to people in the room and posed for pictures with many.  For more details of the Yellow Whistle campaign, please visit https://www.theyellowwhistle.org If you would like to receive yellow whistles, please send your request by email to: us by email, [email protected] ACA (Alliance of Chinese Americans San Diego), APAPA (Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs San Diego) and CCBA (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Diego) are non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organizations.  Photo credit: Xiu Yu, Tracy Wu, Zhichun Zheng
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