John,

On Tuesday, eight people were killed at three separate spas in Georgia, six of whom were Asian, seven of whom were women. The facts are still emerging, and as we mourn, pray, and protest, we also wish to recognize that this nation’s present surge of anti-Asian violence occurs against the backdrop of systemic racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and exploitation. And we ask each and every person—from the White House to your house—to stand up and promise to do their part to stop Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate and white terrorism.

Fueled by anti-Asian rhetoric from our nation’s leaders, there has been a dramatic spike in anti-Asian hate crimes since the beginning of the pandemic. But this anti-Asian hate and violence is not new. America has an ugly history of codifying anti-Asian discrimination, a million little bits of jagged history paving a broken path to this week’s violence.

Our words matter, and our children are watching and listening. Children are gifted mimics; sometimes they repeat the sharp, angry words and actions of adults. Now, that means introspection and course-correction from the adults are in order.

We must confront our history—our words and actions as a country—and work towards the eradication of white supremacy through a community-centered approach.

Our children deserve to feel safe, to have their and their friends’ identities celebrated, and to be protected from hate and discrimination in all forms. We’ll keep fighting to make that possible.

Read our full post in response to this week’s violence.

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