'This affects all of us': Marches, rallies against Asian hate crimes see widespread participation

Hundreds of people took to the streets this weekend to demonstrate against violence toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders following the shooting in Atlanta last week that killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent.

Marchers gathered in major cities nationwide, including New York, Washington, Chicago, San Fransisco and Tusla, Okalahoma. 

There has been a significant increase in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide during the pandemic, including an uptick of 6 percentage points in online harassment, such as the use of racist and xenophobic slurs. In one recent incident, a 75-year-old woman was punched by man in the streets of San Francisco. 

"We are Americans, we are mothers, we are friends, we live here," said Ling Liu, who marched in Indianapolis on Saturday. "We love our community. This affects all of us, and we don't want any violence against anyone."

Here are some photos from events around the nation: 

Contributing: Jessica Guynn, Aleszu Bajak and John Bacon, USA TODAY; Natalia E. Contreras, Indianapolis Star