Team — my heart is heavy today after last night’s mass-shooting at multiple Atlanta spas that took the lives of eight people including six Asian-American women.

Let me be clear: This is an act of racism, misogyny, and hatred. We must speak out and stand up against anti-Asian discrimination in all its forms.

Last night’s incident was not an isolated event. We must acknowledge the underlying anti-Asian hatred that has always been pervasive in the country but has heightened recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last year alone, we have seen thousands of instances of anti-Asian incidents, many of them against Asian women and the elderly.

Anti-Asian racism is no stranger to me, either. During World War II, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were unjustly forced into internment camps -- including my grandparents and parents. Like many others, my family still bears the scars of that dark time in our nation’s history.

Today, I mourn for the victims of yesterday’s shooting. My thoughts are with their friends and families who have experienced unspeakable tragedy.

But tomorrow, I’m getting back to work to end anti-Asian hatred and discrimination in all its forms. We can’t ignore the ugly history of anti-Asian racism in our country. We must speak out against injustice and demand protection for ALL our marginalized communities.

I hope you’ll join me.

Sincerely,

Rep. Mark Takano