We are saddened and outraged by the senseless acts of violence that occurred in Atlanta on Tuesday. The shooting of eight people, six of which were Asian American women, in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy for not only the families of the victims, but also for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
The deadly attack comes amidst a nationwide increase in reports of anti-Asian racism and violence during the coronavirus pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition documenting and addressing anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, has reported that it has received nearly 3,800 self-reports of anti-Asian incidents between March 2020 and last month. Of which, women made up a far higher share of the reports, at 68% versus 29% for men [1] [2]. However, these vicious attacks and acts of domestic terrorism are not new to our nation; xenophobia, racism, and fetishization/sexualization of our AAPI communities has a long history in U.S. policy.
CyberDEI is committed to standing alongside our partners and allies in support of and in solidarity with the AAPI community. Racism, violence, xenophobia and hate have no place in our world, or within our professional community.
As always, we are committed to assisting our membership and our communities with navigating these challenging times.
We are still dealing with a deadly pandemic, fighting social and climate disasters at every turn, and trying to survive...so where to start? First, we have to acknowledge the root cause of all the terror and violence that our Black and AAPI communities have faced for far too long. We must take a long hard look at the history and prevalence of white supremacy in the country and start putting in the work to bring it to an end. [3]
Next, get involved any way you can because no effort is too small. Do what you can, when you can, and it will add up. Everyone can play a part in ending hatred and making the world a better, safer place.
Resources:
OCA Advocate (https://www.aapihatecrimes.org) a 501(c)(3) national non-profit, membership-driven organization based in Washington, D.C. with over 100 chapters and affiliates around the country.
StopAAPIHate (https://stopaapihate.org/reportincident/) report an incident, and other resources to help the AAPI community.
Global Network of Sex Work Projects (https://www.nswp.org/resources) educate yourself on sex work, and how it impacts disenfranchised communities.
How Sex Workers are Targeted (https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzj3q/sex-workers-say-anti-trafficking-raids-are-often-a-guise-to-target-them)
Violence Against Women Act (https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/violence-against-women-act-vawa-immigration) understand the violence and crime Immigrant Women are vulnerable that causes untenable circumstances.
Bystander Intervention Trainings (https://www.advancingjustice-chicago.org/what-we-do/bystander-intervention-trainings/) sign up for virtual training sessions.
HollaBack! (https://www.ihollaback.org/bystander-resources/) a global, people-powered movement to end harassment — in all its forms.
Places to Donate:
The AAPI Community Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-aapi-community-fund)
AAPI Progressive Action (https://secure.actblue.com/donate/aapi-action-donationhome?refcode=web-nav)
AAPI Women Lead (https://donorbox.org/racial-solidarity)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (https://secure.donationpay.org/aajc/)
Asian Mental Health Collective (https://www.asianmhc.org/)
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (https://nqapia.salsalabs.org/GeneralDonation/index.html)
Save Our Chinatowns (https://linktr.ee/saveourchinatowns)
This list is far from exhaustive, and there is so much work to be done today and every day. We do what we can, when we can and go on to fight another day. In the meantime, here is another excellent compilation of resources to educate, take action, and donate: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/
References: