Dear John, 
 

We are saddened and horrified by this week’s murder of eight people in the Atlanta area, six of whom were Asian women. Our community’s energy is with the families of the deceased and those who must work and live under the threat of racialized violence. 

The anti-Asian violence this week is the culmination of the heightened fear many of our community members experience, especially over the past year. A recent STOP AAPI Hate report that documented nearly 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents since March 2020, 68% of which were reported by women.

This violence and harassment exacerbates the othering many of our members of Asian descent feel, some of whom face the threat of deportation after incarceration, or who have tragically been detained and deported in the throes of returning home to their community here in the U.S. 

We stand in solidarity with our AAPI community members, which include formerly and currently incarcerated people and their families, and know that our collective freedom is tied to the safety and care of all our community members. 

-Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)