Activism

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds the Passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

As the U.S. grapples with the horrific impacts of COVID-19, the Asian-American community is also facing an alarming rise in anti-Asian violent attacks and discrimination.

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 2021

Christy Price

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Barbara Lee at COVID Hate Crimes Act press conference in Wash., D.C., on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) voted to pass H.R.1843, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which aims to combat the rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the U.S. grapples with the horrific impacts of COVID-19, the Asian-American community is also facing an alarming rise in anti-Asian violent attacks and discrimination. Since March 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has documented over 6,600 incidents of anti-Asian violence and verbal attacks against the Asian American community.

Thousands of law enforcement agencies also do not participate in the FBI’s hate crime reporting program or collect hate crime data. Additionally, 17 states do not require local law enforcement to collect data on hate crimes, and three states have no statutes governing the treatment of hate crimes.

“From the horrific shooting we saw in Atlanta to the attacks on the Asian community in my own district, I am outraged by the violence directed toward individuals, businesses, and families,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Today’s passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act is an important step toward putting a stop to this violence and supporting the individuals and communities who have experienced these tragedies. I will continue working with my colleagues in the Tri-Caucus to demand accountability for these attacks and ensure the safety of our communities.”

This legislation, among many things, would create a position at the Department of Justice to facilitate expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, require the Attorney General to issue guidance for the creation of online reporting mechanisms and the collection of disaggregated data, and direct federal agencies to work with community-based organizations to raise awareness of hate crimes during the pandemic.

Christy Price

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

9 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.