Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, a 21-year-old white man opened fire on three massage parlors
across the Atlanta metro area. He murdered eight people, including six
Asian women.^1

This comes as just the latest major incident of violence suffered by Asian
American communities, especially women. According to a recent report, hate
crimes targeting Asian Americans have surged over 150% in major cities in
the last year.^2 And unsurprisingly, it’s women and nonbinary people who
are disproportionately harmed by this bigotry. In fact, Asian women have
reported twice as many hate incidents over the past year.^3

These events are shocking and upsetting to all, and we hope you will join
us in taking the time to reflect on how you will support the Asian
American community. And if you identify as AAPI, we hope that you are
making the time and space to care for yourself and get the support you
need during this difficult time.

A series of deliberate political decisions enabled yesterday's tragedy,
and we can absolutely point to specific policies, such as lax gun laws,
which led to these murders.

But above all, the legacies of white supremacy and misogyny—which are
still alive and well today—paved the way to yesterday’s events. Racist,
xenophobic, and misogynistic politicians and political movements have
thrived over the last five years—and anti-Asian policies and attitudes in
the U.S. date back centuries. Donald Trump has repeatedly used the
coronavirus as a Sinophobic slur in an effort to distract from his own
failures and mishandling of the pandemic. Meanwhile, politicians across
the country continue to peddle anti-Asian lies and misinformation for
their own personal gain and use their positions to enshrine attacks
against women, especially women of color, into law.

AAPI-led organizations, leaders, and community members repeatedly warned
government officials and advocates about increased incidents of anti-Asian
discrimination over the past year (including in Atlanta), but their
warnings were largely ignored, leaving Atlanta's AAPI community vulnerable
to such an attack.^4

Today, we’ll begin the process of mourning the losses to our
community. We’ll start to grieve the tragedies of yesterday’s horrific
killings, and we’ll be there to support our family, friends, and loved
ones who are affected by it.

And in the days and weeks to come, we’ll channel this energy into
confronting white supremacy head-on, building power and educating,
engaging, and mobilizing our communities into action—so that we heed our
AAPI community members' warnings and ensure that we don't leave anyone
else vulnerable to white supremacist violence.

To start, here are some important organizations fighting for Asian
American rights. Be sure to follow and engage with them as they begin
planning next steps and actions following yesterday's horrific attack. 

* Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter,
[ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AJC (Washington, DC) ([ [link removed] ]Website,
[ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* Stop AAPI Hate ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum ([ [link removed] ]Website,
[ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* 18 Million Rising ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* APIA Vote ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* APIA Health Forum ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter, [ [link removed] ]Facebook)
* National Council of Asian Pacific Americans ([ [link removed] ]Website, [ [link removed] ]Twitter,
[ [link removed] ]Facebook)

And be sure to stay tuned for updates in the near future. 

Thanks for all you do.

–Arvin, Mana, Bodhi, Lisa, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "8 People Killed in Atlanta-Area Massage Parlor Shootings," The New
York Times, March 16, 2021
[link removed]

2. "Asian American community battles surge in hate crimes stirred from
COVID-19," PBS Newshour, March 16, 2021
[link removed]

3. "Stop AAPI Hate National Report," Stop AAPI Hate, accessed March 17,
2021
[link removed]

4. "Asian Americans in Atlanta stunned by shootings as advocates demand
action: ‘Everyone has heard enough words,'" The Washington Post, March 17,
2021
[link removed]


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