Anti-Hate Crimes Training

Anna Perng | OCA-Greater Philadelphia

When Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, recently garnered national attention as the city with the highest homicide rate in 2006 among the nation's ten largest cities, OCA-Greater Philadelphia joined local Chinese community leaders to pledge their commitment to work in coalition with diverse community groups, law enforcement, schools, parents and youth to make Philadelphia safer.

Following the coalition's successful "Bring Love Back to Philadelphia" Rally in August, OCA-GP, a recipient of the 2007 OCA and Allstate Foundation Hate Crimes Conference Initiatives Series grant, hosted the "OCA-Allstate Anti-Hate Crimes Training" on October 13, 2007, at Philadelphia Loews Hotel. The goal was to provide the community with resources to effectively address crimes/hate crimes in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Approximately 70 community leaders, law enforcement personnel, and concerned members of the community attended the day-long training. Nearly two dozen expert panelists from federal, state, and local law enforcement and community agencies presented vital information and addressed audience concerns. Keynote speaker Tuyet Duong from the Asian American Justice Center briefed participants on recent federal hate crime legislation.

Tom Ho, a risk analyst for a Manhattan bank, spoke about his father, Kwok Wai-Ho, who died from injuries after being brutally attacked in a South Philadelphia neighborhood in July of 2007. To honor the memory of Kwok Wai-Ho, the family established the Kwok Wai Ho Foundation, which raises reward money for Asian Americans and their families who are the victims of senseless, violent crimes. Participants received OCA and Allstate's Responding to Hate Crime: A Community Action Guide and a directory of federal, state, and local resources. Following the training, OCA-GP was invited to join the PA Inter-Agency Task Force on Civil Tension, which works to both prevent and respond to bias-related incidents in Pennsylvania.

OCA-GP thanks OCA, the Allstate Foundation, co-chair Cliff Akiyama, and Advisory Panel members for making the event a success.

To find out how you can prevent and fight hate crimes, visit this website.