SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The roadmap to reopening California has not been easy. It has been especially challenging for Asian Americans who have faced some ugly rhetoric during the coronavirus pandemic. The California Asian Chamber of Commerce is now launching an emergency triage center for small businesses.
"It's important to remember that small businesses drive this economy, and they are probably the most vulnerable to shocks because they don't have those deep pockets that big businesses do,” said Pat Fong Kushida, president of the California Asian Chamber of Commerce.
As the world fights coronavirus, Asian Americans are also fighting the virus of bigotry. In a presentation by San Francisco State's Asian American Studies department, countless images from around the globe protesting the Chinese and other Asian countries were shown. Many had speech so vile it couldn't be shared.
"We saw evidence of some of that racism starting to occur primarily in the Bay Area, and then it started to work it's way down into the central valley and here in Sacramento,” Kushida said. “So we have a lot of Asian businesses that were impacted very early on."
She said Asian-owned businesses were seeing a downturn before the stay at home orders went into effect.
To find out more about the assistance program, visit calasiancc.org.
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