CV Student Aims to Combat AAPI Hate Crimes

Photo courtesy of Kaleb Condez 

Castro Valley resident Kaleb Condez created an anti-AAPI violence website for a seventh-grade project at St. Philip Neri School in Alameda.

A young Castro Valley student has created a website to raise awareness about violence against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Kaleb Condez, who just completed seventh grade at St. Philip Neri Catholic School in Alameda, made the website for a middle school elective called Genius Hour. In the class, students are required to research a topic of interest to them and share their findings through a presentation to the class.

“My website was completely designed by myself, and I had no previous experience with web design or programming,” Kaleb told the Forum. “It took me about three or four months to research the topic and design the website. Following the website launch, over 900 views were generated across 12 states.”

The presentation was titled “Stop AAPI Hate — Justice For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”  The website is https://lebcondez.wixsite.com/my-site.

Featured on it are reports of AAPI hate crimes, ways to get involved, and organizations to donate to. Several stories of violence against Asians, sometimes fatal, are included. 

“My goal for this project was to raise awareness in my class, but after sharing it on social media and my school newsletter, I realized it could create a huge impact on our local community and beyond,” he says. 

Kaleb and his family have lived in Castro Valley for 12 years. He’s been involved in many activities here, including basketball, swimming, and piano lessons. He says that though he doesn’t have any concrete plans for a future occupation yet, he strives “to make a difference in the betterment of our community.”