AILA Stands Against Hate, Racism, and Injustice
News of horrific violence committed against members of the Asian American community in Georgia yesterday compels us to once again commit to defeating the systemic racism that fuels hate and injustice across our nation.
The tragic murder of eight people at three different spas in North Georgia, six of whom were Asian and all but one of whom were women, highlights a sad truth about our nation: identity-based violence is a real threat faced daily by far too many.
AILA stands against anti-Asian violence and anti-Black violence. We stand with our friends, family members, colleagues, coalition partners, and others who know the sting of systemic racism and violence all too well. We must all commit to the change needed in our country that allow us all to address unconscious bias and racism and punish perpetrators of hate speech and acts of violence, like what we witnessed in Georgia yesterday.
As Atlanta Mayor Bottoms noted in recent news coverage, “Whatever the motivation was for this guy, we know that the majority of the victims were Asian. . . . We also know that this is an issue that is happening across the country. It is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop.” The increasingly virulent anti-Asian threat must be taken seriously. According to the Stop AAPI Hate project, nearly 3,800 incidents of anti-Asian violence occurred between March 2020 to February 2021 and the incidents continue.
As our Asian American community members experience fear, terror, grief and anger, we reiterate our desire to help effect real change. Racialized violence tears at the fabric of our society, wounds deeply, and must be illuminated, confronted, and ended.
On March 3, AILA's Senior Director of Government Relations Greg Chen appeared on ABC's Good Morning America 3: "What You Need to Know." His interview centered around the rise of discrimination and violence against the Asian American community in the past year.
Related Resources
- Esquire: Here's How You Can Take a Stand for the Asian American Community Right Now - March 17, 2021