My name is Rosabel. My husband and I have lived here nine years with our two vivacious, intellectually curious, and fun-loving children. When my children were preschoolers, you might have seen them riding their balance bikes at Parsons Park or Greenridge Park. When I was a volunteer music instructor for two years at Chabot Elementary, you might have heard me singing weekly with the beautiful voices of 75 children. Before COVID-19, you might have seen us visiting the library, collecting food donations with Cub Scouts, or serving Sunday breakfast to our neighbors in need at First Presbyterian.

How do you picture me in your mind?

What if I told you my full name? Rosabel Chang.

What do you think I look like now? Does it change what you think of me?

If you surmise that I am of Chinese descent, you are correct.

“Where are you really from?” is a question I’ve been asked too often in my life.

Or, “You speak English so well.” I wonder: Why wouldn’t I speak English well? Would it matter if I didn’t?

In front of my (bi-racial) children at a Castro Valley playground, I was asked: “Are you their nanny?”

Yet none of this prejudice prepared me for the blatant, painful racism my parents have faced in the last month when they looked for rental units in Castro Valley. My parents, retired and excited to finally live close to their grandchildren, have ethnic sounding names and speak fluent but accented English. Roughly ten properties would not return their repeated voicemails. The units remained available, but no call backs.

As a test, we asked my husband to leave voicemails shortly after my parents did. My husband is white with an Anglo-Saxon name (David Moler) and impeccable English.

What do you think happened?

It was disappointingly predictable. My husband received prompt call backs. Clearly, apartment and townhome complexes in the heart of Castro Valley do not abide by fair housing laws. When called-out by my husband and my father on their visits, the managers hemmed and hawed and sidestepped their discriminatory practices.

Before George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and rising racial assaults against Asian Americans driven by the President’s derogatory labeling of COVID-19 as the ‘China plague,’ I am embarrassed to admit that I probably would have remained silent and resigned. For many of us who have suffered discrimination our entire lives, this is how we have survived. I would have considered finding another place to call home.

NO MORE. ENOUGH. This is my home. This is my town. This is in my country. My family is here to stay. Castro Valley is changing, and it is changing for the better. I know many of you share my disgust and outrage towards racism. To all those in our community who do: Stand with me. Use your voices. Use your pens. Use your social media platforms. Use your power. Do not be silent. Stand up for what is right. There is no place for racism or hate in Castro Valley.