The Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) announced today that it will host a Lunar New Year celebration on Friday, January 20th @ 6pm ET. The event will combine the traditional celebration of Asian heritage with a rally at Federal Hall National Memorial (26 Wall Street) in New York City to combat anti-Asian hate.

AABDC has led the Lunar New Year celebrations since 2000 in New York City and delighted the Asian American community by having the Empire State building lit up in red and gold, the auspicious color for the new year. Lunar New Year 4721 is the Year of the Rabbit, signifying patience and luck.

“Fans of our past Lunar New Year events will get to enjoy again the cultural performances, community recognitions, and hospitality that AABDC has become known for,” said John Wang, founder and president of AABDC. “We also wanted to strike a more serious note amidst the celebrations, to draw attention to the anti-Asian violence, bias and harassment that still afflicts members of the Asian American community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to the Lunar New Year celebration reception at Federal Hall National Memorial, the site where the First Congress met and George Washington was inaugurated, on January 20, there will be addresses by Kathy Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City and Frank Wu, President of Queens College. An array of city and state officials have been invited.

Also joining the event are community groups The Asian American Foundation (taaf.org), They Can’t Burn Us all Inc.(tcbua.org) Make Us Visible.(makeusvisible.org), Chinatown Partnership(chinatownpartnership.org), Chinese American Arts Council (caacarts.org) and Admerasia (admerasia.com).

“Together, these honored speakers represent the community, business and government institutions, which are all critical influencers of society, and who play pivotal roles in turning around the tide of anti-Asian animosity,” Wang said.

AABDC has recently formed the Alliance to Stop Anti-Asian Prejudice, ASAP. Its aims are to: Denounce anti-Asian rhetoric and violence Counter scapegoating of Asian Americans Oppose harmful political rhetoric Address the needs of AAPI communities Promote investment in AAPI-serving organizations Educate people about the positive role of AAPIs

According to Stop AAPI Hate, from March 19, 2020-March 31, 2022, 11,500 hate reports were reported by Asian Americans. Anti-China rhetoric related to the origins of the pandemic, as well as other issues, has inflamed attitudes against Asian Americans.

Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC):

The Asian American Business Development Center, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1994. It assists Asian American businesses in strengthening their capacity to compete in the mainstream market, to expand business opportunities and to promote recognition of Asian American businesses' contributions to the general economy. For more information on AABDC, please visit: www.aabdc.com.

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