A coalition of community, education and government organizations will host a virtual town hall on Tuesday, May 19 in response to xenophobic and hateful attacks directed at people of Asian descent in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 crisis. The event is an effort to let the community know they are supported in these unprecedented times and to share available resources by the organizations that have come together.
“The goal of the town hall is to provide support for those who are reporting incidents of discrimination and bias, as well as information about hate crimes, hate speech and penalties in Wisconsin,” said Patrick J. Sims, UW–Madison Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, in a statement. “This will be a time to come together as a Wisconsin community to hear the experiences of Asian and Asian Americans and provide support.”
The town hall will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, on go.wisc.edu/covid-townhall and will include representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, Dane County Office of Equity & Inclusion, Madison Civil Rights Office, the Madison Mayor’s Office, the Urban League of Greater Madison, UW–Madison Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement, The Hmong Institute and Hmoob Kaj Siab Community Center
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will welcome participants to the virtual town hall.
“I hope this important event will strengthen the collaboration between government entities and community-serving nonprofits in offering support to people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in Wisconsin,” says Rhodes-Conway in a statement. “We will not stand for xenophobic and hateful attacks in our communities.”
