We are devastated by the white supremacist violence in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. that has taken 8 lives, 6 of whom were Asian American women. We condemn this hate crime as an act of white supremacist violence and racialized misogyny.
Recent spikes of anti-Asian violence in the U.S. and globally are rooted in centuries of racist imperialism and colonialism. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes rose 150% in 2020 with women accounting for 68% of recently reported incidents of anti-Asian hate in the United States. The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes is a global issue across the Asian diaspora, from New Zealand to the U.K. to Brazil and beyond.
The Atlanta hate crime must be recognized as violence occurring within the intersections of racialized misogyny, xenophobia, and normalized harm against working class women of color.
Sexualized violence, sexism and racism have always been intertwined in the United States and these attacks bring the need for accountability for ongoing harm to the forefront.
In supporting API (Asian and Pacific Islander) power, we recognize that Asian American, immigrant, and working class women must be at the center of discourse and action. Now is the time for community centered, locally led, and culturally informed organizing and movement building.
We stand in solidarity with Asian communities globally in the collective fight against Asian hate and white supremacy for a more pluralistic and actively inclusive world. Please see below ways you can get involved to show support, from supporting grassroots organizations to signing petitions to stop disinformation related to COVID-19.
Power Fund Initiative: Building Asian American Power: Established by Donors of Color Action, your support for the Power Fund will go directly to the following organizations: AAPI Women Lead/I’m Ready Movement, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, and the New Breath Foundation.
APIENC: APIENC builds queer and transgender power through community organizing and leadership development.
National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders ending Sexual Violence: NAPIESV was established to provide training and technical assistance to API led organizations supporting survivors of sexual violence in the United States and in the U.S. territories in the Pacific.
