Stephanie Sum

Pennsylvania Asian Pacific America Jewish Alliance

Stephanie Sum, co-founder and co-chair Pennsylvania Asian Pacific America Jewish Alliance, said that she and her peers attended the march to follow the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and to show their appreciation of the Black community.

“We’re here to follow the legacy of Dr. King,” Sum said. “We deeply support and appreciate the Black community.”

“We are standing on the shoulders of the Black community, who sacrificed so much. They changed history and led all minority people to the table and gave them voices.”

Sum is also using her voice to speak out against bias against people of Asian descent.

“I am sad about the uptick of Asian hate since the start of the pandemic,” she said, referring to the China being identified as the source for the coronavirus.

“The anti-Asian rhetoric that started at the beginning of the pandemic started taking lives from communities — many unheard of in the media,” she continued. “We are all Americans, no different than any other ethnic group. We contribute every day by working so hard.”

– Ebenezer Nkunda