San Francisco introduces resolution to rename street in honor of Vicha Ratanapakdee

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors introduced a resolution on Tuesday to rename a street after Vicha Ratanapakdee, the elderly Asian man who was killed in an unprovoked attack in January.

The proposal: Supervisor Catherine Stefani proposed to rename Sonora Lane, located in the Anza Vista neighborhood, as Vicha Ratanapakdee Way, according to KTVU.

Stefani said Ratanapakdee’s case was “one of several senseless attacks against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community here in San Francisco,” adding that “our friends and neighbors should not have to fear the unthinkable when they walk our streets.”
Southeast Asian Development Center, a non-profit organization, and Ratanapakdee’s family supported the resolution.
Monthanus Ratanapakdee, the 84-year-old man’s daughter, said this “will remind future generations that violence against our AAPI elders has no place in our society.”

Other details: Ratanapakdee’s death sparked a movement, from changing profile pictures to paying tribute and holding an emergency rally against racism.

Meanwhile, his attacker, 19-year-old Antoine Watson, pleaded not guilty to the murder.
Ratanapakdee’s family expressed outrage in March after San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin compared what happened to a “temper tantrum.”

Featured Image via GoFundMe

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