Friends & Allies,
Stand with us in grief, awareness and solidarity. (And add your name to the community statement here):
Excerpt from A Community-Centered Response to Violence Against Asian American Communities; Asian Americans Advancing Justice/Atlanta & Georgia NAACP; March 18, 2021
"For centuries, our communities have been frequently scapegoated for issues perpetuated by sexism, xenophobia, capitalism and colonialism. Asians were brought to the United States to boost the supply of labor and keep wages low, while being silenced by discriminatory laws and policies. From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the forced migration of refugees from US-led military conflict in Southeast Asia, to post-9/11 surveillance targeting Muslim and South Asian communities, to ICE raids on Southeast Asian communities and Asian-owned businesses, Asian American communities have been under attack by white supremacy.
Working class communities of color are disproportionately suffering from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s relentless scapegoating of Asians for the pandemic has only exacerbated the impact of Asian business owners and frontline workers and inflamed existing racism. The hyper-sexualization of Asian American women and the broad normalization of violence against women of color, immigrant women, and poor women make Asian American women particularly vulnerable. Hate incidents against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted.
We are calling on our allies to stand with us in grief and solidarity against systemic racism and gender-based violence. Violence against Asian American communities is part of a larger system of violence and racism against all communities of color, including Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.
In this time of crisis, let’s come together and build just communities, where we are all safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and where all our loved ones thrive."
