Yesterday evening, a white male gunman targeted and opened fire across three Asian owned massage parlors in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Eight people were shot and killed at the businesses targeted, which had majority Asian employees. Of the victims, six were Asian women. There is no doubt that yesterday’s shootings were hate-motivated, and conducted by a white supremacist and misogynist that felt empowered to kill women of color.

Our thoughts are with the families of the victims, but also with all Asian communities who have faced increased violence or lived in hypervigilance in the past year.

Since March 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has tracked 3,795 hate incident reports from Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States. Of the victims, women made up a 68 percent, with many reporting instances of sexual harassment, and sexual and physical abuse. Violence against Asian women is not a new phenomenon, and according to studies 21 – 55% of Asian women in the United States report experiencing physical and or sexual violence during their lifetime. Of homicides, 58% of Asian women killed by gun violence or other violent means are victims of intimate partner violence.

Yesterday’s shootings are a reminder that we cannot end gun violence violence without ending white supremacist violence and gender based violence.

We stand in solidarity with our Asian family and fellow leaders and encourage everyone to support organizations on the ground in Georgia and across the country that are combatting violence against the Asian community every day.

We will be supporting and donating to the following organizations, and hope you will do the same:

In Solidarity,

Amber Goodwin

Executive Director

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