On March 16, eight people were killed at three different spas in North Georgia including six Asian women. We are heartbroken by these murders, which come at a time when Asian American communities are already grappling with the traumatic violence against Asian Americans nationwide, fueled by the United States’ long history of white supremacy, systemic racism, and gender-based violence.
As we collectively grieve and respond to this tragedy, we must lead with the needs of those most directly impacted at the center: the victims and their families. And during this time of broader crisis and trauma in our Asian American communities, we must be guided by a compass of community care that prioritizes assessing and addressing our communities’ immediate needs, including in-language support for mental health, legal, employment, and immigration services.
We must also stand firm in decrying misogyny, systemic violence, and white supremacy. We must invest in long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence and hate in our communities. We reject increased police presence or carceral solutions as the answers.
For centuries, our communities have been frequently scapegoated for issues perpetuated by sexism, xenophobia, capitalism, and colonialism. Asians were brought to the United States to boost the supply of labor and keep wages low, while being silenced by discriminatory laws and policies. From the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the forced migration of refugees from U.S.-led military conflict in Southeast Asia, to post-9/11 surveillance targeting Muslim and South Asian communities, to ICE raids on Southeast Asian communities and Asian-owned businesses, Asian American communities have been under attack by white supremacy.
Working class communities of color are disproportionately suffering from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s relentless scapegoating of Asians for the pandemic has only exacerbated the impact on Asian business owners and frontline workers and inflamed existing racism. The hypersexualization of Asian American women and the broad normalization of violence against women of color, immigrant women, and poor women make Asian American women particularly vulnerable. Hate incidents against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted.
We are calling on our allies to stand with us in grief and solidarity against systemic racism and gender-based violence. Violence against Asian American communities is part of a larger system of violence and racism against all communities of color, including Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.
In this time of crisis, let’s come together and build just communities, where we are all safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and where all our loved ones thrive.
In Solidarity,
Asian Americans Advancing Justice -Atlanta & Georgia NAACP
Georgia Organizations
159 Georgia Together
9to5
9to5, National Association of Working Women
Absolute Justice now & Protect The Vote Ga coalition
ACLU of Georgia
All Voting is Local
Georgia America Votes-Georgia/America Votes
Asian American Advocacy Fund
Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Activists
Asian Real Estate Association
Asian Youth for Civic Engagement
Atlanta ATL Radical Art
Atlanta Jobs with Justice
Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
Black to the Future Action Fund
Black Voters Matter
Cambodian American Association of Georgia
Care in Action
Civic Georgia
Coastal Georgia Minority Chamber Inc
Common Cause GA
Crystal in the City
E Equals MC Squared Educational Services LLC
Environment Georgia
Faith in Public Life
Feminist Women’s Health Center
GA Familias Unidas
GALEO & GALEO Impact Fund
Georgia AFL-CIO
Georgia Alliance for Social Justice
Georgia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda
Georgia Equality
Georgia Muslim Voter Project
Georgia Shift
Georgia Stand-Up
Georgia State AFL-CIO
Georgia Working Families Party
Georgians for a Healthy Future
JCRC of Atlanta
Justice For Georgia
Korean American Coalition
Latino Community Fund Inc.
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs – Welcoming Atlanta
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)
New Georgia Project Action Fund
Partnership for Southern Equity
Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates
Poder Latinx
Progress Georgia
Promote Positivity Movement
Protect The Vote GA
Raksha, Inc
Refugee Women’s Network
Rep GA Institute Inc
Represent GA Action Network Inc
Savannah Undocumented Youth Alliance
Showing Up for Racial Justice – Atlanta
Sierra Club, Georgia Chapter
Southern Poverty Law Center
Taiwanese American Professionals – Atlanta
The Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, Inc.
The New Georgia Project
They See Blue Georgia
Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Southeast
We Love BuHi (Buford Highway) Inc.
Women Watch Afrika
National/ Out of the State Organizations
Alliance for Youth Action
Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education
America Votes-Georgia/America Votes
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Apna Ghar, Inc.
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Asian Prisoner Support Committee
Asian Youth for Civic Engagement
ATL Social Change
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Black Lives Matter Global Network
Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry at Fuller Seminary
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Community Justice Action FundCouncil on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Daya Inc
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Equality Labs
Freedom Network USA
GGE Media
Global Sikh Economic Forum
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Hate Is A Virus
Immigration Hub
Innovation Law Lab
Jetpac Resource Center
Jewish Voice for Peace Korean American Center (a division of Korean Community Services)
March For Our Lives GA
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Mekong NYC
MPower Change
Muslim Justice League
National Network for Arab American Communities
National Organization for Women
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
NFLUENCE
North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT)
NPNA
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)
People For the American Way
Pi Delta Psi Fraternity
RESULTS
Sakhi for South Asian Women
Seac village
Seed the Vote
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
South Asian SOAR
South Asian Youth In Houston Unite (SAYHU)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Southeast Asian Defense Project
Southeast Asian Freedom Network
State Innovation Exchange (SiX)
Taiwanese American Citizens League
Taiwanese American Professionals – Austin Chapter
Taiwanese American Professionals – New York
Taiwanese American Professionals – San Diego
Taiwanese American Professionals – San Francisco Chapter
Taiwanese American Professionals – WashingtonDC
Taiwanese Americans for Progress
The Revolutionary Love Project
Transforming Generations
Tsuru for Solidarity
Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations
United We Dream
Voto Latino
Yemeni American Merchants Associaiton
Young Bhutanese Coalition of New York
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
List of organizations updated on March 17, 2021 (4:45 PM EST)
For more information please email jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.
