Maryland governor forms working group to tackle anti-Asian violence

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) rolled out a working group that is charged with curbing the rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination.

Hogan on Friday announced that former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur will chair the group, which will craft strategies, recommendations and actions to address the rise in anti-Asian violence. The body will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and comes after a shooting last month at Atlanta-area spas killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

“This workgroup, one of the first of its kind in the country, will be composed of a wide ranging group of experts and advocates across various disciplines who will be tasked with developing recommendations, strategies, and additional actions that can be taken to address this rise in anti-Asian activity, to prevent acts of violence, and to support victims and witnesses,” Hogan said. 

“Rob Hur is a strong advocate for justice and for the Asian American community. I want to thank him for all his many years of service to the State of Maryland and to the nation, and we very much appreciate his willingness to share his significant expertise, knowledge, and leadership by spearheading this important effort,” he added.

Calls to address anti-Asian discrimination rose to a boiling point after the Atlanta shooting, with many advocating for the attack to be labeled a hate crime.

Hogan said crimes against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150 percent nationally in 2020 and had more than doubled since 2018.

Hur will supervise the selection of members of the workgroup in cooperation with the governor’s office and relevant stakeholders. Those members will be introduced in the coming weeks. 

“As an Asian American, I’m grateful to Governor Hogan and the First Lady for focusing attention on the important issues of bias and violence against members of Asian American communities in our nation, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to be part of the solution,” Hur said.

“Conversations about subjects like race and racism can be extraordinarily awkward and difficult,” he continued. “But awkward and difficult and honest conversations are the only way to solve big and painful problems in our society.”

Hogan, whose wife, daughters and grandchildren are Asian, has been an outspoken advocate in support of the Asian-American community since the Atlanta shooting.

“It really has been a serious problem. My wife, my three daughters, my grandkids, all Asian, and … they’ve felt some discrimination personally,” Hogan said last month.

“We will not stay silent anymore. But we will also not respond with vengeance. Instead, we will love each other more, we will support each other more, and we will stand together. We will make sure the overwhelming outpouring of support from leaders turns into real and lasting action that protects our children and grandchildren,” Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan added in an op-ed in March advocating for new hate crime legislation.