'Makes Me Feel Angry': Protesters Caravan Through Sacramento In Support Of AAPI Community

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – As rallies were held nationwide to call out hate against Asian Americans in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at Atlanta spas, protesters in Sacramento gathered at Southside Park in support of the movement. They held signs and rolled through in a caravan.

Teresa Sale said she is fed up with hate crimes and violence spurred by racism. For Sale, it gets personal and hits too close to home.

"As a mother of black children, I understand what it means to feel endangered every time my children walk out the door," she said. "It makes me feel angry but it makes me feel like we have to do something."

A community of all walks of life and a variety of ethnic backgrounds spoke out against the violence against Asians.

"My background is Hispanic and part Asian as well so I'm supporting for those reasons but also because I feel that those things need to be brought to the forefront," Vincent Ortiz said.

"In my neighborhood, it's so diverse, and I love that," protester Kery Shaw said. "And there's so many other Asian people, so I'm not just speaking up for myself. I'm speaking up for the people in my neighborhood, in my community."

Shaw was proud to hold her sign that read "Stop Asian Hate." Adopted from South Korea and raised by a white family, inclusion is her foundation and sits at the core of a protest where people of all backgrounds stepped up to show their support.

"I'm just so glad that Asians are finally getting a voice after all these years and decades of being assaulted and harassed and being silenced about it," she said.

In another rally in Sacramento, people painted their cars and gathered together in a "Drive Out Hate" caravan, which included Councilwoman Mai Vang.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg also tweeted out his support for the movement to stop Asian hate.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, there have been nearly 4,000 self-reported hate crimes against Asian Americans in the past year.