Following an attack on an Asian American teen on Philadelphia’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) train on Nov. 16, hundreds have rallied together to show their support and condemn acts of violence against Asian Americans. Students and other residents of the city were heard chanting “Stop bullies!” and “Stop Asian hate!” Tuesday as they marched from City Hall to the School District of Philadelphia headquarters.

The rally was organized in part by the family of Christina Lu, the teenager who was attacked on the SEPTA. Lu, an Asian American Central High School student, was assaulted by four teenagers after stepping in as a bystander in an attempt to stop a group of other Asian American students from being bullied, Daily Kos reported.

The teens who attacked her not only used racial slurs but also beat her as she fell to the ground. They were charged with ethnic intimidation and aggravated assault.

“Our message is loud and clear,” Lu said during the rally. “We must all come together regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic classes, because we all want the same for our community: public safety in the City of Brotherly Love.”

The rally was the first time Lu spoke up about the incident. 

“Everyone has been calling me a hero, but I really am not,” Lu said. “I’m just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family who saw people in need of help, and so I tried to help.”

Alongside Lu, local leaders spoke up about the incident, the rise of Asian American crimes, and the importance of making public transportation safe. 

“I introduced a resolution on the lack of safety with SEPTA prior to this video coming out. It was actually immediately after the rape on the El,” City Council Member-At-Large Daniel Oh said. 

John Chin, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation called the attacks against Lu and her classmates “a watershed moment” for the city.

“There is demand that the Philadelphia School District address their failures. There is a demand that SEPTA address their failures. We hold them accountable to provide our students safety in our schools, in the buses, subways, and trains,” Chin said. He added that “the attackers must be held accountable for their crimes.”

In Philadelphia crimes against Asian Americans and those riding the SEPTA have been on a rise. In October a woman was raped for about eight minutes and harassed for over 40 minutes on the SEPTA train. Days later Lu was beaten, and moments after the rally calling for change, another woman was beaten after accidentally bumping into two teens.

According to Philadelphia transit officials, a 27-year-old Asian American woman was beaten by two teens on a train Tuesday. While it is unclear if the attack was racially motivated, since no slurs were used, it furthers concerns about safety on public transportation in Philadelphia. A police report indicates that all three boarded the train around the same time, when the train car jerked forward they bumped and a verbal altercation occurred, after which each of the juveniles struck the woman in the face.

According to the Associated Press, the woman’s glasses were broken and she suffered minor injuries, including a cut to her lip and a possible scratch on her eye. The teens, aged 12 and 13, were charged with simple assault.

The incident follows a consistent trend of violent attacks against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic. According to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition of organizations dedicated to addressing anti-Asian discrimination, at least 10,370 incidents of anti-Asian bias have been reported from Mar 19, 2020, to Sept. 30. This data comes alongside other reviews confirming a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. Last month, data from the FBI found that hate crimes actually rose by 76% in 2020.

The AAPI community needs our support now more than ever, whether it be checking in on our family and friends, spreading awareness of COVID-19 misconceptions, or contacting members of Congress to do more against anti-Asian hate. Check out this guide on resources and ways to support the AAPI community and our Asian friends. Hate is the real virus, and we must end it.