We are deeply saddened, hurt, and outraged by the recent shootings of 8 people including 6 Asian Americans in Atlanta and the upward trend in racist violence towards the Asian American and Pacific Islander community across the country. We know that anti-Asian violence has been woven throughout our nation’s history, and that this recent incident is simply one part of the bigger systems of oppression that impact Asian American communities, immigrant communities, and other communities of color.
We also recognize that the recent intentional and relentless scapegoating of Asians for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidences of hate and violence against Asian Americans around the country. Stop AAPI Hate received 3,800 reports of anti-Asian hate between March 2020 to February 2021. 35% of those discriminatory acts happened at businesses and women reported hate incidents twice as often as men. As a business-focused federation made up of a majority of women of color, this tide of racism and violence strikes at the core of our values and community. We acknowledge that gender based violence against women and non-binary people often compounds and is compounded by race-based violence and that our solutions must be intersectional.
At the USFWC, we work with our members to build up and strengthen a solidarity economy, and we recognize that such solidarity is only truly meaningful if we stand together in these moments of great injustice. We work for the safety, dignity, and liberation of all workers, as well as their communities. As we come together collectively to support AAPI people, please find below some resources that may be helpful.
If you or someone you know has been affected by an act of hate, Stop AAPI Hate offers tips for people who experience a hate incident and for people who are witness to a hate incident. They also offer a portal for reporting hate incidents and requesting help.
Other organizations advocating for the AAPI community to follow, engage, or support:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AJC (Washington, DC)
- Stop AAPI Hate
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
- 18 Million Rising
- APIA Health Forum
- National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
Image via Kill Joy @kill.joy.mall
