
I join our Asian American community in mourning and solidarity following
the senseless shootings in the Atlanta area last night.
It’s heartbreaking and appalling to see the anti-Asian harassment,
violence, and now mass murder that has accelerated over the past year — part
of a long history of racism in America that we all must fight to end.
And all too often, the most silenced members of our community — Asian
American elders and women working in invisible industries — have borne the
brunt of these attacks.
The
unconscionable blaming of Asian American communities for the devastation from
this pandemic has reinforced the sense of invisibility and perpetual
foreigner status that so many of us have known our entire lives.
Growing up as the daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, some of my most
vivid childhood memories involve racist encounters with strangers.
People who knew nothing about me except for my appearance feeling
empowered to pull eyes into slits or chant ching chong sounds. That constant
feeling of needing to be aware, ready, on guard whenever out in public.
Since before COVID-19 was spreading in the United States, Asian American
communities have been on edge, reeling from the impacts.
Boston has not been immune to these incidents. In every city across the
country, we must build community to protect and celebrate our intersectional
identities.
We
will stop Asian hate and combat racism by meeting this moment, by building a
city for everyone, by transforming our systems to see and value every life.
Michelle

I am beyond disgusted and saddened by
the mass murder and shootings that recently occurred in Georgia against the
Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and the ongoing anti-Asian violence happening across
our country.
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In
Georgia, six of the eight victims were Asian American women. While so many of
us are still processing our shock, we have seen far too much racist and
misogynistic violence to be surprised.
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The
grief, anger, trauma, and fear that our Asian American friends and neighbors
are experiencing is real and painful. This moment demands more than
solidarity – it demands we ALL take action collectively to support our
AAPI communities.
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If
you're able, will you contribute to one of these local organizations doing the
work to support AAPI communities in Boston?
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VietAid
Asian
American Resource Workshop
Chinese
Progressive Association
Asian
Task Force Against Domestic Violence
Saheli
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Last
summer, we marched and demanded action against racism standing in solidarity
with Black, Brown, Latinx, Indigenous, and AAPI communities. Anti-racism
doesn't just mean reckoning with the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow, but
also the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment, and the targeting of
Arab communities post-9/11 and so many other forms of violence.
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We have
to acknowledge the ugly truth: Violence against Asian Americans in this
country – and here in our City – is not new, but it is growing. Hate crimes
against Asian Americans are up by over 130% here in Boston.
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This
anti-Asian violence will not go away on its own – we have to come
together in a multiracial, multilingual coalition of people who care enough
about each other and about the cause of justice to make real, lifesaving
change. So, aligned with my value system I'm holding the victims and their
families, and all of us affected by this latest tragedy, in my prayers while
also taking the necessary steps to create a City that is free of harm and
hate – and I hope you'll join me.
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Will you
help uplift AAPI communities, show your solidarity, and fund the fight for
racial equity and justice by donating to organizations focused on eradicating
anti-Asian violence and ensuring our AAPI brothers and sisters have all they
need to survive this pandemic and thrive on the other side of it?
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Thank you
for being part of the solution,
Andrea
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