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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution apologizing to Chinese-Americans in the city for historical racism, becoming the fourth California city in the last year to do so, according to a report.
The Northern California city has a large Asian population and the country’s oldest Chinatown. The resolution coincided with the Tuesday's start of the Lunar New Year.
A worker cleans a street Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in the Chinatown district in San Francisco. (Associated Press)
The resolution apologizes for "systemic and structural discrimination" and violence targeting Chinese immigrants related to historical resolutions from past board supervisors calling for harassment of Chinese residents and restrictions on Chinese laundries.
‘Unusual noise’
One historical ordinance prevented the use of traditional gong percussion instruments in performance because the instruments produced an "unusual noise disturbing the peace."
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A woman stands at the entrance of a market in Chinatown in San Francisco, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (Associated Press)
Supervisor Matt Haney, the chief sponsor of the resolution, rallied Wednesday with Chinese-American civic leaders for increased investments in the Asian community.
Other actions
In 2021, Los Angeles, San Jose and Antioch passed similar resolutions and President Biden also signed the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act after it was passed by Congress.
The anti-hate measures come amid a rise in anti-Asian crime connected at least in part to misplaced blame surrounding the Chinese origins of the coronavirus.
A person crosses Grant Avenue in Chinatown in San Francisco, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (Associated Press)
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More than a third of San Francisco’s 900,000 residents are of Asian descent, with a majority of Chinese descent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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