NAPALSA condemns the murder of 8 people, including 6 Asian women, in a deadly hate crime spree in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16, 2021.
We are saddened and heartbroken over the eight lives that were cruelly taken on Tuesday. Six Asian women were among the people murdered in this deadly hate crime. We unequivocally condemn all violence, but there is something especially sinister about violent hate crimes. As members of the Asian Pacific American community, this attack conjures up feelings of isolation, voicelessness, and immense sadness.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans increased 150% over 2020, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The analysis also showed this spike in hate crimes began during March and April of 2020 when increases in COVID cases fueled negative perceptions of Asian Americans. The use of the term “China virus” by some government officials sowed distrust against Asian Americans for some Americans and lent some legitimacy to xenophobic beliefs.
This isn’t the first time America has confronted such heinous deadly acts against our community. To name just a few, in 1871, 20 Chinese Americans were lynched to death while many more were injured in the Chinese Massacre in Los Angeles. In 2001, a white supremacist murdered two South Asian Americans and injured a third in Dallas, TX as revenge for 9/11. In 2017, a similar incident occurred in Olathe, KS resulting in the murders of two Indian men.
Racist perpetrators of hate crimes have disproportionately targeted female-identifying Asian Americans. Female-identifying Asian Americans experience intersectional discrimination in terms of race and gender. For example, from March 2020 to February 2021, 68% reported anti-Asian hate incidents occurred against female-identifying survivors. Of the reported anti-Asian hate incidents, female-identifying Asian Americans are 2.3 times more likely to have experienced anti-Asian hate incidents than male-identifying Asian Americans.
Violence targeted at certain racial or ethnic groups is nothing new in America. Black Americans have endured seemingly endless iterations of hate crimes, such as the deadly assault at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine people were killed in a racially-motivated attack. This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the ingrained racism within governmental institutions and police brutality towards Black people. We still mourn and demand justice for Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, and George Floyd. We continue to remember them and celebrate their lives and demand justice for their deaths along those of the victims of Tuesday’s shooting.
When faced with each one of these tragedies, it is easy to say violence is not the answer. It is easy for us to pledge to eradicate racism. It is easy to share posts on social media. It is another thing to take tangible action. We know everyone is hurting as much as we are. We – like many of you – exchanged texts, shared articles, and talked about self-care strategies we were using to cope with the news.
In the coming days we will be sharing a toolkit full of graphics to share, numbers to text, templates for you to fill out to send to your elected representatives, resources to use to learn more, and fundraisers to donate to. Prejudice and violence have no place in America. With each person leading with light and compassion, we can hold those who choose to hate accountable for their harmful actions and continue to grow this great American experiment. Until then, love deep and live large.
With Love and Light,
NAPALSA Board 2021-2022