Resolution No. 6830370
RESOLUTION NO. 6830
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CYPRESS,
AND ACTING AS EX -OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE CYPRESS RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT, CONDEMNING
ALL FORMS OF ANTI -ASIAN SENTIMENT AS RELATED TO COVID-19.
WHEREAS, 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for seven
percent of the population in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Orange County has the third largest Asian American population in the
United States with 600,000 community members, and Cypress is home to over 17,000
Asian American and Pacific Islander residents; According to the Los Angeles Times the
Asian American community has increased 41% in the past decade; and
WHEREAS, the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance states
that along with the Vietnamese community there are Korean, Chinese and Filipino groups
who are usually too often overlooked and need support; and
WHEREAS, across the United States, Orange County has the third-highest
number of Asian American owned businesses; These businesses produced $20 billion
dollars in revenue in 2007 and employ approximately 100,000 workers; and
WHEREAS, over two million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are working
on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in health care, law enforcement, first
responders, transportation, supermarkets, and other service industries; and
WHEREAS, the use of anti -Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID-19,
such as the "Chinese Virus" and "Wuhan Virus" have perpetuated anti -Asian stigma; and
WHEREAS, the use of anti -Asian rhetoric has resulted in Asian Americans being
harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, since January 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of
hate crimes and incidents against those of Asian descent; and
WHEREAS, according to a recent report, nationally, there are nearly 3,000
reported cases of anti -Asian discrimination related to COVID-19 between March 19, 2020,
and December 31, 2020; According to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, there were
3,795 incidents reported from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Sixty-eight percent
was verbal harassment, 20% was shunning, 11 % was physical abuse; and
WHEREAS, the OC Human Relations Commission found a 10 fold increase in hate
incidences and crimes in 2020 against Asian Americans in Orange County, including an
incident in Huntington Beach where an Asian American family had fliers posted on their home
and vehicle that read, "You guys are Chinese Viruses" and "Get out of our country;" and
WHEREAS, anti -Asian discrimination and hate since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic has continued; and
WHEREAS, since the start of 2021, there has been a surge in anti -Asian attacks
targeting elderly Asian American adults. Some adults with limited English proficiency face
even greater discrimination in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize that naming COVID-19 by its geographic
location or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigma; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, the WHO issued guidance calling on media outlets, scientists,
and national authorities to avoid naming infectious diseases for locations to avoid
stigmatizing groups of people; and
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WHEREAS, on February 27, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
stated, "ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus" and that it is inappropriate and
inaccurate to call COVID-19 the "Chinese virus"; and
WHEREAS, on February 28, 2020, Dr. Mitch Wolfe, the Chief Medical Officer of
the CDC, said, "Stigma is the enemy of public health"; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the CDC,
testified that use of the term "Chinese coronavirus" is wrong and inappropriate; and
WHEREAS, the Secretary General of the United Nations called for international
solidarity and an end to any ill-founded discrimination of the outbreak's victims; and
WHEREAS, on January 26, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential
Memorandum "Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance
Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States."
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
Cypress hereby
(1) Condemns and denounces all forms of anti -Asian sentiment, including those
relating to COVID-19; and
(2) Recognizes that the health and safety of all Cypress residents, no matter their
background, must be the utmost priority; and
(3) Condemns all manifestations and expressions of racism, xenophobia,
discrimination, anti -Asian sentiment, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance;
and
(4) Calls on Federal law enforcement officials, working with State and local
agencies
(A) to expeditiously investigate and document all credible reports of hate
crimes, harassment, bullying, and threats against the Asian American and Pacific
Islander communities in the United States; and
(B) to expand collection of data and public reporting to document the rise of
incidents of hate crimes relating to COVID-19; and
(C) to hold the perpetrators of those crimes, incidents, or threats
accountable and bring such perpetrators to justice, including through investigation
and prosecution; and
(5) Calls on the Attorney General to work with State and local agencies and Asian
American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations to prevent discrimination,
and expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate education campaigns on
public reporting of hate crimes; and
(6) Calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the
COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and Asian American and Pacific Islander
community-based organizations,• to issue guidance describing best practices to mitigate
racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(7) Recommits the City of Cypress to serving as a leader in building more inclusive,
diverse, and tolerant societies.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Cypress, and acting
as ex -officio governing Board of Directors of the Cypress Recreation and Park District at
a regular meeting held on the 12th day of April, 2021.
ATTEST:
CIT LERK OFT E CITY OF CYPRESS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } SS
372
MAY
0 THE CITY OF CYPRESS
I, ALISHA FARNELL, City Clerk of the City of Cypress, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that
the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the said City Council held
on the 12th day of April, 2021, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: 5 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Hertz, Marquez, Morales, Berry and Peat
NOES: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS:
4a\fk,
CITY CLERK O THE
CITY OF CYPRESS