A man, right, who was holding a sign that said “Hold CCP Liable” disrupts a peaceful rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. After a brief scuffle the man was escorted to an area away from the crowd by police. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Hundreds of people gather for a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A person holds a Canadian flag sign with the words “No Hate” on it during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A woman wears a face mask that says “Stop Asian Hate” and a Canada toque during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A young boy and others hold signs during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Former British Columbia premier Ujjal Dosanjh addresses the crowd during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A young boy holds a sign during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Korean-American journalist Eileen Park Robertson, who is married to former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, addresses the crowd during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Korean-American journalist Eileen Park, left, and her husband, former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson attend a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin addresses the crowd during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin addresses the crowd during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin wears a face mask that says “Stop Asian Hate” during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A rally against anti-Asian racism drew hundreds to the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday (March 28).
The gathering was organized by the Asian Canadian Equity Alliance and was spurred on by a recent shooting in Atlanta, Georgia that killed eight people at a series of spas. Six of the victims were Asian women, leading many to classify the killings as hate crimes. Prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.
The rally was also sparked by a 700 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Korean-American journalist Eileen Park Robertson, who is married to former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, addressed the crowd during the rally. Park had received an “avalanche of anti-Asian hate” after her wedding to Robertson was featured in Vogue.
Today, Vancouver stood in solidarity with cities all over the world, denouncing Asian hate. We stood side by side with our Indigenous, Black, and marginalized communities and called out the systemic racism and oppression we continue to face.
— Eileen Park Robertson 박아린 (@EileenParkTV) March 29, 2021
After the rally, organizers said the “event was a huge success.”
Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, released a statement following the rally.
“Xiaojie Tan. Daoyou Feng. Hyun Jung Grant. Soon Chung Park. Suncha Kim. Yong Ae Yue. Paul Andre Michels. Delaina Ashley Yaun. We remember them,” Singh said.
“The shootings that took the lives of eight innocent people in Atlanta, Georgia, recently happened in the U.S., but we’re not immune to anti-Asian racism in Canada.”
Singh noted that racist measures like the head tax showed that discrimination against people of Asian descent had a long history in Canada.
In a statement, the City of Vancouver said it will “take action against racism, misogyny, criminalization of sex work, and all forms of discrimination” in the community.
“The City is defining its role and response to ongoing and systemic racism and the current rise in racist incidents. This includes publicly naming and standing against racism and hate, working with partners to do the same, and advocating for changes across all sectors of society, including our own ability to receive and respond to racist incidents.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
