Health Commission adopts amended resolution condemning anti-Asian and Pacific Islander hate

The San Francisco Health Commission voted May 18 to adopt amendments to an April resolution condemning racism and violence toward Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and directing the Department of Public Health to strengthen outreach and data collection.

Commissioner Tessie Guillermo reintroduced amendments that add historical context, recommend disaggregating data for distinct Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and call for the department to add footnotes to presentations explaining gaps where small sample sizes prevent subgroup analysis. Guillermo asked Secretary Morwitz to read edits proposed by colleagues; Commissioners Chow and Chao were cited as contributors to the revised language.

Commissioners noted that Congress had passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act the same day and that the local Stop AAPI Hate reporting center is based in San Francisco. Commissioners expressed support for naming historical episodes of discrimination in the resolution's whereas clauses and for measures to ensure smaller communities are not rendered invisible by aggregated data.

Commissioner Guillermo moved to adopt the amendments; Commissioner Chow seconded. A roll-call vote followed and the chair announced the resolution passed. The commission directed the Department of Public Health to pursue innovation to address health disparities, disaggregate data where feasible, add explanatory footnotes when subgroup data are not available, and continue building relationships with community-based organizations.

The chair reminded the public that incidents of anti-AAPI hate can be reported at stopaapihate.org. The amended resolution will be included with posted meeting materials.