Bay Area roller skaters and cyclists wheeled through Downtown San Jose Sunday afternoon, protesting in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community chanting “Stop Asian Hate” and brigading traffic for nine and a half miles.

San Jose resident Jamie Nguyen said while the rollout proved a deeply connected community, she was happy to “hold space and make a bunch of noise” in a lively and engaging way. 

“The conversations [about the reality of anti-Asian hate and discrimination] can be real [overbearing],” Nguyen said. “Disrupting the everyday flow of life [by taking the streets] is all that matters so why not make it fun [for the community].”

Around 200 people brought their wheels to demonstrate in front of San Jose City Hall, through Vietnam Town, Japantown and at the Dai-Thanh Supermarket while grooving to amplified music in between each stop. 

The Asian American and Pacific Islander Solidarity Rollout was organized by San Jose Roll Call, a community-based roller skating group. The rollout was in response to an escalation of xenophobia, discrimination and hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community since the coronavirus pandemic began.

“Different people need different forms of activism,” said Justin Chavez, co-founder of San Jose Roll Call. “Sometimes there’s activism that is very confrontational, it’s very tough to deal with. I think what we provide is a supportive community.”

Chavez said the first demonstration of the day began at 2:30 p.m. at Dai-Thanh Supermarket on San Salvador and Second Street to highlight hate crime incidents happening “right here, right now.” 

On Feb. 3, a 64-year-old Vietnamese woman was robbed of $1,000 at her car outside the supermarket where she had just bought Vietnamese delicacies and withdrew money for the Lunar New Year gift-giving tradition. 

“She lost more than just her purse in that moment . . . it’s much more difficult to replace her sense of security and trust,” Chavez said during the demonstration, reading from a Feb. 11 Vogue article written by the woman’s daughter. 

San Jose resident Lili Peet heard about the rollout through social media and said she was amazed upon arriving at the demonstration. 

“Culturally, Asian people have been told ‘don’t make a scene . . . be civil in public’ and we’re going to rebel against that,” Peet said. “It’s so cool to see so much of the community show up to do that.”

San Jose Roll Call partnered with attorney Adam Juratovac, who organized the Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate rally an hour prior to the rollout. The rally began at San Jose City Hall where nearly 600 demonstrators occupied the sidewalks.

Stop AAPI Hate is a campaign organization that tracks and responds to hate incidents against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community nationwide.

As the rollout made its way outside the shops of Vietnam Town on Story Road, Antioch resident Khennedi Meeks emphasized the importance of various identities standing up in solidarity with the AAPI community. 

“My Asian brothers and sisters, women, LGBTQ, the Black community, the brown community, the indigenous community, we need to keep each other safe,” Meeks said. “Wherever there’s people, there’s power.” 

John Le, member of Asians With Attitudes, called the skaters and cyclists to action. Asians With Attitudes is a movement to unify Asians against racism and hate crimes while also patrolling Asian communities in the Bay Area. 

“These individuals [who’ve committed hate crimes] can’t tell the difference between my grandma and his grandma,” Le said as the demonstration entered Vietnam Town. “You all look the same to these people. So we’re out there to make a difference. The reason we’re out there is because we give a fuck.”

As skaters and bicyclists of all ages rolled through Vietnam Town and Japantown, many Asian Americans came out of their homes and stores to wave and smile in support. 

Alongside Stop AAPI Hate, San Jose Roll Call partnered with San Jose State’s SJSU Cares and Silicon Valley Pride to put on a full-day event. 

Upon arriving back to city hall around 6 p.m., demonstrators continued to dance, skate around, draw with chalk and mingle with other community members.