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One year ago, I stood alongside my fellow AAPI community in Baltimore—in horror and grief—as we mourned the loss of Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; Yong Ae Yue, 63; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; and Paul Andre Michels, 54 in Atlanta. I watched as our collective grief turned to anger, hurt, and questions of belonging. As cases of violence against AAPI women and elders continue to be simultaneously publicized, yet minimized, the steady fuel of frustration leads to a single point that has never before been clearer: the liberation we seek is interconnected.
We work in the space of trying to eliminate the racial wealth gap, and one of the reasons we're exploring this topic is unpack how racist narratives affect our economic outcomes. Asian immigrants are seen as having enjoyed relative economic success in the past 70 years in America, yet little time is spent examining how America flipped a switch around the end of WWII, uplifting Asians—as the country courted Cold War allies—and that Asians prospered only once the crushing weight of racist regulations were lifted.
This Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we explore not just the legacy of anti-Asian stereotypes and legislation, but also how white supremacy has strategically terrorized Asians into submission, lionized their economic success — and then pitted them against Black and Latine people. We will explore the solidarity, past and present, of AAPI and other BIPOC communities. And of course, we will hear from our own AAPI team members and partners in the work.
We do all of this in pursuit of a shared goal: to bring to light the histories that we share. To borrow a phrase from Yuri Kochiyama, consciousness is power. May we hold these stories as a foundation to our work as we continue to forge our paths together.
With gratitude,
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