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In solidarity with the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander community
March 19, 2021
Dear Skyhawks,
The recent shootings in the Atlanta-area that led to the murder of eight people, including six Asian women, is cause for alarm regarding xenophobia and misogyny in our country. We mourn the loss of innocent lives and while the man charged with murder denies that his actions were racially or misogynistically motivated, we cannot ignore the threats, intimidation, assaults, injuries, and death that are fueled by Anti-Asian racism and violence.
Over the past year, Asians and Asian Americans have been the victims of increased racism and xenophobia. Stop AAPI Hate (https://stopaapihate.org/), a hate tracker created last year by several Asian American groups, has recorded more than 2,800 incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans between March and December 2020. A disproportionate number of these incidents have been directed at women.
Moreover, it is disheartening and very sad that some people are using the pandemic as another way to be racist, sexist, amplify anti-Asian sentiment and as a cover for enacting violence against people based on their racial and ethnic backgrounds. Racist and violent behavior against the Asian, Asian American, and the Pacific Islander community must stop. Scapegoating must stop, harassment must stop, and hate must stop.
There is a confluence of factors contributing to the increased number of Asian Americans who do not feel safe in their communities, and it’s critical we all take time to understand why. Lee Bitsóí and our Diversity Collaborative will be offering a bystander intervention workshop for us to learn how to identify racist microaggressions and what strategies we can use to intervene. Workshop details will be shared in the coming weeks. In the meantime, our Diversity Collaborative will host an open discussion on Tuesday, March 30, from 1-2 p.m. More details will be provided next week.
We stand in solidarity with the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander community, especially our own FLC members. Let's continue to work on ending racism and hate in our society.
Sincerely, Tom
Tom Stritikus
President
Fort Lewis College