WHAT: A donation ceremony to accept a banner carried in a rally and march by
members of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to protest
racism, defend civil rights and support Chinatown businesses.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 10
10:30 a.m.: Media access and brief remarks
11 a.m.: Donation ceremony followed by community march and
banquet
WHERE: Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
843 Stockton St. San Francisco
WHO: Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director, National Museum of American
History
Theodore S. Gonzalves, curator, Division of Cultural and Community Life
Dan Ding Bong Lee, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association board
member
Judge (Ret.) Julie M. Tang, community leader
Walter Wong, president, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
A 20-by-4-foot red vinyl banner with the words, “Fight the Virus, NOT the People” will be presented to the National Museum of American History by members of the San Francisco Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA). The banner will become part of the permanent collections at the museum.
The CCBA used the banner Feb. 29, 2020, in one of the first U.S. rallies to protest COVID-19-related hate crimes against Asian Americans and to support San Francisco Chinese American businesses. The march took place several weeks before a national health emergency shut down the country, reflecting its impact on the Chinese community and the discrimination the community had already begun to face.
The banner was featured in a digital program presented with AARP to mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May 2021 and as part of the museum’s “Pandemic Perspectives” series looking at aspects of the cascading crisis caused by COVID-19 in a session on “Fear and Scapegoating During a Pandemic.”
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Media only:
Melinda Machado
202-633-3129
Lucas Fierro-Hayden
202-633-3129