Block The Hate Community Rally | Compassion In SGV | Vincent Lugo Park | San Gabriel, California

I'm back with you guys on a new blog post documenting my time photographing a community rally event at Vincent Lugo Park hosted by Compassion In SGV earlier this year. Besides the wedding, this was my first in-person event that I photographed since the pandemic started. This was also the first community rally that I've ever attended and it certainly won't be the last.

According to an article in NBC news, hate crimes against Asians in the U.S. rose 73% last year compared to the previous year. There have always been anti-Asian hate crimes in our society, but the pandemic and many other factors drove that number upwards. To put things in perspective, the FBI reported 279 hate crimes against Asians in 2020, compared to 161 in 2019. Because of the uptick in hate crimes against Asians, there have been many organizations that have sprouted up during the pandemic all with a common goal of bringing awareness, supporting, and protecting our local communities. Compassion In SGV is the Southern California chapter of Compassion In Oakland. They are an all-volunteer organization that provides resources such as in-person self-defense course, chaperone to your car or bus station, volunteer food guides, and more. It was an honor working with Compassion In SGV for their very first community rally event.