How a Past Filled With Racist Experiences Made Me an Accidental Activist
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author.
I begin writing this with a heavy heart, a feeling that’s become all too familiar in the past year. But today, that heaviness was compounded after I read about 46-year old Yong Zheng. He, along with a group of family and friends had just finished a Lunar New Year dinner. As they walked together, they stumbled upon an attempted robbery at a Brooklyn gambling den that had spilled onto the sidewalk. Because the alleged victims were Asian and anti-Asian assaults have been skyrocketing, Zheng and his friend jumped in to help, but he paid the ultimate price for his heroism. He was fatally stabbed. This Good Samaritan was KILLED for trying to stop another Asian assault. And now, there’s a woman who is suddenly a widow, a 14-year old girl who is fatherless and a 5-year old boy who barely had enough time to get to know his baba.