Statement Condemning Anti- Asian American and Pacific Islander Racism and Violence
To our Community:
Greater Boston PFLAG condemns the recent wave of senseless, racist attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), most recently the shootings in Atlanta, Georgia resulting in the death of eight. We acknowledge and oppose the systems and conditions that have catalyzed the dramatic rise in incidents of anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate and violence.
Since the start of 2020, violence against the AAPI community has risen exponentially. These attacks are a result of heightened levels of racism against the AAPI community that echo racism communicated by the Trump administration and conspiracy theorists that has been amplified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This kind of violent scapegoating is not an isolated phenomenon, and plays on deeply-entrenched racism and xenophobia present in our society.
In recent months, the racist attacks have come to particularly target elderly Asian American and Pacific Islanders, who are especially vulnerable to physical assault, as well as women and workers in invisible industries. The role that violent sexism and fetishization has in racist attacks on Asian American and Pacific Islander women is key to understanding the context within which these attacks occur. While many of these instances of violence have occurred in cities, AAPI hate has been on the rise across the nation, and Massachusetts is not the exception: there have been 67 reports of instances of AAPI discrimination from March through December of last year, as reported by national organization Stop AAPI Hate.
We encourage other organizations as well as members of our community to be vocal in condemning this violence and to commit to learning more about the issues at hand and how they can be allies to the AAPI community.
#StopAsianHate
Learn More
Read what Facebook’s Eric Toda and actor John Cho each have to say about the recent rise in Asian hate from their own experiences:
Eric Toda: ‘My People Are Dying in Silence—and I’m Here With a Megaphone’
John Cho: Coronavirus reminds Asian Americans like me that our belonging is conditional
Read what writer Diana Lu wrote about the targeting of Asian American sex workers
Learn about the model minority myth and its role in anti-Black and -Asian hate
Read this Vox article to learn more about the history of Asian hate in the US
Read this TIME article on the effect of COVID-19 on Asian Americans’ experiences of racism
On January 29th, Joe Biden signed an Executive Order condemning the recent rise in Asian hate
Take Action
Contact your representative and support the newly introduced bill Bill HD.1653 clarifying what constitutes a hate crime and give guidance on enforcing the statute around hate speech.
Join this Massachusetts Town Hall on Anti-Asian Racism on March 25th
The Asian American Commission (AAC) of Massachusetts published a community action guide for responding to racist incidents
Teaching Tolerance released this 4-step guide on how to respond to coronavirus-related racism
Read about how to support your AAPI colleagues
Sign this petition to end hate crimes against Asian Americans
Sign this petition to ensure safety of immigrants when receiving medical attention
Support Local AAPI Organizations
Asian Pride: Boston-based support and social space for API LGBTQ+ young adults and allies
Chinese Progressive Organization: @CPAJustice
Asian American Resource Workshop: @AARWboston