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Item # 31
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
April 6, 2021
TOPIC: Resolution Condemning Racism Xenopobia and Hate against Asian Americans
AGENDA TITLE:
Adopt Resolution Condemning Racism Xenophobia and Hate against Asian Americans
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt a resolution condemning racism, xenophobia, and hate against Asian Americans.
DISCUSSION
The City of Santa Ana is committed to diversity and inclusion, and advancing social justice
and inclusion for people of all races, ethnicities, and national origins.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, racist and xenophobic
rhetoric related to the geographic origins of COVID-19 has resulted in a rise in reported
hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) individuals,
communities, and businesses throughout the United States. From March 19, 2020
through February 28, 2021, Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition aimed at addressing anti-
APPI discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic, received reports of over 3,795 hate
incidents in the United States against AAPIs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hate
incidents against the APPI community is not new in the United States, and the City of
Santa Ana acknowledges how racism and discrimination has adversely impacted Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The City of Santa Ana is home to an estimated 332,318 residents, of which Asian
American and Pacific Islanders comprise 12.1 percent—or approximately 40,210
residents.
The attached resolution declares the City of Santa Ana’s commitment to its residents by
unequivocally stating that it will condemn racism, xenophobia, and hate against Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
Resolution Condemning Racism Xenopobia and Hate Against AAPI Residents
April 6, 2021
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There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Resolution
Submitted By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
Resolution No. 2021-XXX
Page 1 of 2
RESOLUTION 2021-XXX
A RESOLUTION OF THE SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL CONDEMNING RACISM,
XENOPHOBIA, AND HATE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and
advancing social justice for people of all races, ethnicities, and national origins; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana is home to an estimated 332,318 residents, of which
12.1 percent—or approximately 40,210 residents—are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent; and
WHEREAS, the first Asians arrived in what is now the continental United States in the
1500s but are still perceived as “perpetual foreigners”; and
WHEREAS, no city, including the City of Santa Ana, has escaped the history of hateful
actions against Asians; and
WHEREAS, Orange County’s first Chinatown, located in the heart of Santa Ana, was
burned to the ground due to racist and xenophobic falsehoods spread about its Asian residents;
and
WHEREAS, the United States has a long history of anti-Asian violence and discrimination,
including the Page Act of 1875 which prohibited Chinese women from entering the United States,
the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which prohibited any Chinese laborer from immigrating to the
United States, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as authorized by
former President Franklin D. Roosevelt through Executive Order 9066 in 1942, and murders of
Asian Americans such as Vincent Chin; and
WHEREAS, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, racist and
xenophobic rhetoric such as “kung flu” and “China virus” was proliferated by former President
Trump, which contributed to an unprecedented and alarming rise in reported hate crimes against
individuals, communities, and businesses perceived to be Asian throughout the United States;
and
WHEREAS, from March 19, 2020 through February 28, 2021, Stop AAPI Hate, a national
coalition aimed at addressing anti-Asian discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic, received
reports of over 3,795 hate incidents in the United States against those believed to be Asian; and
WHEREAS, throughout American history, Asian women have been fetishized, sexualized,
and objectified; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2021, a white man targeted three Asian American-owned
businesses in Georgia and murdered eight people, six of whom were Asian women who he
fetishized, sexualized, and objectified in order to eliminate his “temptations”; and
Resolution No. 2021-XXX
Page 2 of 2
WHEREAS, throughout American history, Asian Americans have been stereotyped as the
“model minority,” a myth used to pit communities of color against one another; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana acknowledges how racism and discrimination have
adversely impacted Asians in America for many generations and continue to do so to this day;
and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana welcomes, honors, and respects the contributions of all
its residents and acknowledges and embraces their differences; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana thrives on the diversity of its residents, including its
residents of Asian descent; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana desires to demonstrate its commitment to its residents
by unequivocally stating that it will condemn racism, xenophobia, and hate against Asians and
Pacific Islanders in America.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, that:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby condemns racism,
xenophobia, and hate against Asians in America; and
Section 2. The City of Santa Ana stands in solidarity with our Asian community in its
fight against hate; and
Section 3. The City of Santa Ana will work to ensure that all members of our Asian
community are treated with dignity and respect.
Section 4. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City
Council, and the Clerk of Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution.
ADOPTED this ____ day of April, 2021.
Vicente Sarmiento
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho
City Attorney
By:
1
3
5
0
1
AYES: Councilmembers
NOES: Councilmembers
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, DAISY GOMEZ, Clerk of the Council, do hereby certify the attached Resolution No.
2021 -XXX to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on
_____________________, 2021.
Date:
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana