For Immediate Release: March 25, 2021
Contact: Rachita Singh, rsingh@aapd.com
Washington, D.C. – The last two weeks have been filled with pain, fear, and righteous anger among Asian American communities over the murder of 8 people, including 6 Asian women, in Georgia. This mass shooting is a result of deep-seated white supremacy, misogyny, and anti-Asian racism. We condemn violence and marginalization towards Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, and AAPD joins many others in solidarity with the Asian community across the country.
This shooting is the inevitable consequence of anti-Asian hate, white supremacy, and misogyny that has festered for too long in our country and has manifested in hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans that have skyrocketed during the pandemic. More than 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents have been self-reported since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of which have been reported by women and 500 of which have occurred within 2021 alone. As recently as this weekend, disabled Asians have been among those targeted by anti-Asian hate and violence, and members of our disability communities are part of the communities impacted by hundreds of years of anti-Asian racism.
As disabled people we understand the importance of centering lived experiences of those most affected by recent events and frequently this does not occur. We encourage newsrooms and media outlets to center the voices and experiences of AAPI journalists, experts and other AAPI community leaders when describing these hate crimes. The attempted humanization and empathy already given to the killer has deepened the pain and frustration felt by Asian communities in this country.
Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng. We also reflect on the lives lost and impacted by the long history of systemic oppression and racism towards Asian Americans in this country. This Friday, AAPD will be participating in a National Day of Action and Healing with the AAPI community and AAPI and ally organizations to #StopAsianHate. Check out this toolkit and join us all in condemning such hate crimes.
We also encourage allies to educate themselves on the history of anti-Asian hate in the U.S., to support organizations like Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Stop AAPI Hate, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, or AAPI Women Lead, or to attend a free bystander training hosted by Hollaback! and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
To our AAPI community members, we acknowledge the trauma, grief, frustration, and many other impacts experienced as a result of the shooting in Georgia and long-present anti-Asian racism in this country. For mental health resources curated by and for members of the AAPI community check out the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association’s state by state list of mental health and behavioral services for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders or the Asian Mental Health Collective.
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The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization, AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the over 56 million Americans with disabilities by promoting equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation. To learn more, visit the AAPD Web site: www.aapd.com.