Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault Statement on Anti-Asian Violence in Fulton County, Georgia
Dear Community,
Yesterday, eight people were killed and several more wounded in shootings at Asian American-owned businesses in Fulton County, Georgia. Six of the victims were Asian American. I am outraged and grieve the senseless loss of life.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have witnessed an increase in racist and xenophobic rhetoric directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), placing families, communities, and businesses at risk of violence and harassment. Yesterday’s attack cannot be separated from racism and xenophobia directed at Asian communities in the US.
Neither can yesterday’s attack be separated from a larger pattern of violence against BIPOC women. Six of the eight people who were killed were Asian women. Violence against Asian women is driven by the combined oppressions of misogyny and racism. Asian women are fetishized and hypersexualized—and these stereotypes have dangerous and often fatal consequences.
MNCASA condemns in the strongest possible way the rise in harassment and domestic acts of terror aimed at Asians and Asian Americans. The rise in such violence correlates with an increase in white nationalist discourse, anti-immigrant rhetoric, hate speech, and community violence. We stand firm in support of Asian communities and add our voice to theirs in calling for justice.
Anti-racism work is vital to ending sexual violence and improving the criminal justice response to it. We believe that we as an organization have a responsibility to challenge the violence of racism and misogyny and speak out against injustice in our community.
Together with our community members, partners, and allies, MNCASA stands against all forms of racism and violence. We demand justice for all who have lost their lives to racism.
In Umoja (Unity),
Artika Roller
MNCASA Executive Director
To learn more about violence against AAPI communities in the US, see the following resources:
This is a collection of resources to help individuals educate others about violence against AAPI communities, take action, donate, and more.
This resource includes links to the Stop AAPI Hate resource with safety tips in a variety of Asian languages, NYC’s Stop Asian Hate toolkit, #HateIsAVirus bystander intervention resources, and Compassion In Oakland (a program that connects folks who want someone to go somewhere with them with volunteers who want to go with them).
The center has a teach-in curriculum that includes some safety tips from various psychologists, campus departments, and national groups.
This article in Elle Magazine examines the history of anti-Asian violence and highlights some of the cross-racial solidarity work that is forming/deepening in response.
- Anti-Asian Immigration Violence Is Nothing New by Xoái Pham
This article provides more history of anti-Asian violence from a Southeast Asian American perspective. It focuses on immigrant organizing within the community.