We stand together with our AAPI community to denounce the tragic mass shooting in suburban Atlanta and the thousands of other instances of racially-motivated violence against Asians in our country.

The racism and acts of violence against our Asian community members is nothing short of a pandemic ailing our country. Over the past year, racist attacks against Asian Americans in the country’s largest cities have increased up to 150%. Advocacy groups such as Stop AAPI Hate estimate that anti-Asian violence has surged during the pandemic, with nearly 3,000 incidents reported between March and December 2020.

The gun violence in Atlanta as well as in Boulder, Colorado, are not standalone instances. For decades, gun violence has plagued our nation and devastated the lives of many. We must do everything we can to end this spiral of hate. Elected officials and other public leaders must take bold steps to end gun violence, and not use language that links the coronavirus with Asians or portrays the pandemic as a plot by China to harm the United States. The media has a responsibility to not justify when someone causes harm.

It’s our responsibility to stand up to hate in our daily lives each time we see it rear its ugly head, and to demand that our elected officials fight against systemic racism and create spaces for healing at the local and national level.

We stand with Stop AAPI Hate and others calling for concrete action from the public and private sector to end this violence.

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