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Community Organizations Respond to Anti-Asian Violence and the Targeted Murders in Atlanta

March 17, 2021

APIs CAN! and our member organizations are enraged and devastated by the targeted murders of 8 women, most of whom were Asian Americans, in Atlanta.

Increased and unchecked anti-Asian rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled xenophobia and anti-Asian racism. We have seen a rise in attacks on Asian Americans, particularly elderly people, across the country, and a lack of safety in all aspects of our lives. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese Internment to the Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek to the disproportionate impact on Southeast Asians in the school to prison to deportation pipeline, racism against Asians is ingrained in this country’s history. Women and femmes experience the brunt of not only this racism, but also the sexist stereotypes of Asian American women, which leads to many types of violence, including what we saw in Georgia yesterday. 

Asian American women are on the frontlines of our economic sectors, including as domestic workers and nail salon workers. Asian American women are also the center of our family lives as homemakers and caretakers. Asian American women live simultaneously at the margins of society and at the intersection of immigration, gender, race, and class. 

We denounce violence against Asian American communities in all forms, and we call on local, state, and federal governments to: 

  • Support robust and responsive crisis intervention resources, including in-language support for mental health, legal, employment, and immigration services;

  • Center transformative justice that begins with cross racial dialogue and community-building that address white supremacy as the root cause of violence and hate;

  • Fund non-law enforcement strategies that invest in communities of color to address long-term systemic racism and extreme inequality -- jobs, housing, immigration, healthcare, education, and more. To end violence, we must ensure our people have the resources and opportunities they need to lead dignified lives; and

  • Focus on survivors’ needs - ensure victims and survivors of all backgrounds and language abilities receive full supportive multilingual and culturally appropriate services so they can recover and heal.

APIs CAN! is hosting a forum March 25, 2021 6pm-7:30pm highlighting how the Asian American community in MA is organizing against racism and learning how to support our community during the pandemic. RSVP at bit.ly/townhallaar.

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DESCRIPTION OF APIs CAN!
The mission of Asian and Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network (APIs CAN!) is to advance the interests of Massachusetts' Asian and Pacific Islander American communities by promoting a shared agenda to further equity and oppose discrimination through year-round civic action.

PRESS CONTACTS
Lisette Le
Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID)
(617) 970-0052
Dawn Sauma
Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK)
(978)-457-0065

Sign Ons Organizations [as of 2:00PM on 3/17/21]:

  • Asian American Commission of Massachusetts

  • Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW)

  • Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC)

  • Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, MA Chapter (APALA)

  • Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK)

  • Barr Foundation

  • Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)

  • Boston Little Saigon

  • Boston Pilipinx Education Advocacy Resources (PEAR)

  • Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA)

  • Chinese Progressive Association Boston (CPA)

  • Episcopal City Mission

  • Fil-Lennials of New England

  • Greater Boston Legal Services - Asian Outreach Unit (AOU)

  • Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition (GMAAC)

  • Hyams Foundation

  • Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston

  • Matahari Women Worker Center

  • Networking Organization for Vietnamese Americans (NOVA)

  • One Revere

  • Philippine Mainstream Advocacy for Non-Partisans Association, Inc., (PAMANA)

  • Quincy Asian Resources Inc. (QARI)

  • Revere Youth in Action

  • Social Innovation Forum

  • TSNE Mission Works

  • Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID)

Sign Ons Elected Officials [as of 2:00PM on 3/17/21]:

  • Andrea Campbell, Boston City Councilor District 4

  • Dan Hunt, Massachusetts Representative 13th Suffolk

  • Ed Flynn, Boston City Councilor District 2

  • Erika Uyterhoeven, Massachusetts Representative 27th Middlesex

  • Julia Mejia, Boston City Councilor At Large

  • Kenzie Bok, Boston City Councilor District 8

  • Liz Breadon, Boston City Councilor District 9

  • Liz Miranda, Massachusetts Representative 5th Suffolk

  • Michelle Wu, Boston City Councilor At Large

  • Nina Liang, Quincy City Council President At Large

Sign Ons Individuals [as of 1:30PM on 3/17/21]:

  • Chu Ly

  • Crystal Bi Wegner

  • Cynthia Yee

  • Darlene Lombos, Greater Boston Labor Council

  • Dimple Rana, Revere resident and organizer

  • Elaine Ng

  • Esther Kim, Counselor at Lexington High School

  • Eugenia Beh

  • Giles Li

  • Go Sasaki, Boston Educator

  • Hehershe Busuego, Director of Programs & Racial Equity Essex County Community Foundation

  • Helen Shao

  • Helena Berbano, Boston Activist

  • Jean Wu

  • Jenny Lau

  • Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union

  • Joy Bautista

  • Kimberly Truong, Ph.D., Executive Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, MGH Institute of

  • Health Professions

  • Lieu Nguyen, Chair, Vietnamese Dual Language Committee

  • Lusa Lo, University of Boston Department of Curriculum and Instruction

  • Pong Louie

  • Richard Chang, Head of School, Quincy Upper School

  • Sam Hyun, Chairperson of the Asian American Commission

  • Somy Kim

  • Sung-Joon Pai

  • Suzanne Lee

  • Wayne Yeh

Click here to add your your organization or yourself to the sign on list.