$166 million grant approved to combat anti-Asian hate in California

November 18, 2021

California officials announced a $166.5 million state grant on Monday.

State effort: California announced on Monday that $165.5 million, sponsored by the API Legislative Caucus, will be dispersed over the course of the next few years to combat anti-AAPI hate in the state.

The California API Equity Budget is divided across several projects dedicated to preventing and responding to hate crimes, including Stop AAPI Hate.
Of the funds, $110 million is expected to go toward the California Department of Social Services, who will work with the Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander American Affairs to distribute funds directly to community-based organizations.
One of the fund recipients, the AAPI Data Project, is dedicated to improving data equity through policy research.
Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that has actively worked over the last year to track hate crime incidents, partnered with legislatives and the Commission to bring about this project and will also receive $10 million.
The budget is also broken out to fund AAPI media outlet outreach efforts, restorative justice programs and educational resources for schools, a social media based peer social network, an ongoing workgroup coordinated by the Commission and a new statewide reporting hotline with multilingual services.

Assemblyman Phil Ting told East Bay Times that the API Equity Budget “is just the first step” in the fight to combat recent anti-Asian backlash. Ting and other California representatives spoke at a gathering at Garden Grove on Monday to announce the grant and linked the rise in hate crimes to remarks from former President Donald J. Trump, like the “China virus” and “kung flu.”

Featured Images from Phil Ting

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