April 5, 2021
COMMUNITY
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 11
Oregon API leaders, allies in solidarity to #StopAsianHate
March 19, 2021
To our Asian family and community:
By now, we have all heard of the devastating news of
another mass shooting — this time in Atlanta, Georgia
against our Asian community. Our hearts are heavy, as we
mourn the loss of eight people, six being from our Asian
community. We send our deepest condolences to the families
who lost their loved ones in this horrific act of violence.
Hate and bias incidents against Asians have increased
exponentially during the past year, since the start of the
pandemic, due to the bigoted political rhetoric against Asians
by racializing the coronavirus and calling it the “China virus,”
“Wuhan flu,” and other derogatory names.
According to Stop AAPI Hate, there has been a more than
150% increase in Asian hate crime and bias incidents since
March of last year, with nearly 4,000 incidents reported
nationwide and 68% of those reported against women.
According to the Department of Justice, in Oregon there were
15 hate crimes/incidents reported in March 2021, with 10 of
them being a crime and not an incident.
This is a gender-based racist hate crime, an attack based on
racism, misogyny, and xenophobia. The victims and their
families deserve for us to speak truth to what it is. Justice
requires us to name it and work to dismantle white
supremacy and misogyny.
Violent acts against Asians have often been overlooked and
rejected as hate crimes — as in the recent murder of an
elderly Asian man in Oakland, California, and again, now as
the Atlanta sheriff spokesperson said the killer had a “really
bad day... and this is what he did.”
We know there is a long history of hate crimes and
massacres of Asians Americans in the United States, from the
massacre of 18 Chinese immigrants living in Los Angeles in
1871, the massacre of as many as 34 Chinese gold miners
robbed and killed on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon on May
25, 1887, the shooting of five Southeast Asian refugee
schoolchildren in Stockton, California in 1989, the Sikh
Temple shooting in 2012 when ten people were shot and seven
of those individuals died from their injuries, and numerous
individual murders like that of Vincent Chin in 1982, who
have been the symbols for social justice and civil rights for
many API activists.
The United States’ past anti-immigrant, anti-Asian poli-
cies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the incar-
ceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War
II, and the Muslim ban in 2017 are at the core of white supre-
macy and American propaganda against Asian Americans.
We stand in solidarity with our Asian communities and
organizations when we say this violence — this hate — must
stop. We all need to stand up against racism, xenophobia, and
misogyny towards all Black, Indigenous, People of Color
(BIPOC), and immigrants and refugees.
We call on one another, our elected leaders, law enforce-
ment, and the legal system:
w to stand up against white supremacy, bigotry, and miso-
gyny;
w to bring justice and hold white nationalist hate groups
and the perpetrators accountable for the threats and crimes
they commit;
w to hold investigators and law enforcement accountable to
the communities they are there to serve and protect and to
create change so law enforcement is not perpetrating white
supremacy, racism, misogyny, and xenophobia;
w to uplift and support policies for additional protections for
communities of color and immigrants and refugees, including
gun control measures;
w to provide healing, resources, and language access to sup-
port individuals and families when they become the victims of
violence and hate;
w to provide protection and support for frontline workers,
service industry workers, and care professionals as they are
often at the frontline of risks and threats.
This increase in violence has shaken up our Asian and
Pacific Islander communities, especially our elders and our
women. We know there is a lot of fear and worry. We hope
your family is staying safe and vigilant. We stand by you, and
we are committed to building a safer and stronger community
for all of us. Our community is strong and resilient, and we
will get through this together.
We see and hear you. We love and support you. You belong.
We belong.
Below are some resources we gathered for you and your
loved ones. Please report any incidents you experience and/or
witness. Most importantly, please stay safe and take care of
one another.
Sources to report a hate incident/crime to, in addition to
calling law enforcement:
In Portland:
Portland United Against Hate:
https://www.portlandunitedagainsthate.org
CAIR Oregon: https://cairoregon.org
APANO: https://www.apano.org/reporthate
IRCO: https://irco.org/support
In Oregon
Department of Justice:
www.doj.state.or.us (click “Bias Crime”)
Nationally:
Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC):
https://www.standagainsthatred.org
Muslim Advocates:
https://muslimadvocates.org/issue/hate-crimes
Council on Islamic-American Relations:
https://www.cair.com
Act to Change: https://acttochange.org/#about
Mental health/social support resources:
Asian Health & Service Center, Mental Health Support:
https://www.ahscpdx.org/mentalhealth.html
Portland Racial Equity Lines for Life:
https://www.linesforlife.org/racial-equity-support-line
IRCO Pacific Islander & Asian Family Center (PIAFC):
https://irco.org/who-we-are/asian-family-center.html
APANO: https://www.apano.org
Asian Mental Health Collective: https://www.asianmhc.org
Mental Health America: https://www.mhanational.org/
issues/asian-americanpacific-islander-communi-
ties-and-mental-health
Webinars, conversations & resources:
APANO & PUAH Resilience to Hate Resource Guide:
www.apano.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PUAH-
Resilience-to-Hate-Resource-Guide-3_23_20.docx.pdf
National Council on Asian Americans:
https://now.org/break-the-cycle-a-conversa-
tion-about-the-rise-of-anti-apia-racist-violence
Asian American Advancing Justice trainings:
https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
Stop AAPI Hate: Safety Tips for
Those Experiencing or Witnessing Hate:
https://stopaapihate.org/safety-tips-english
Hollaback’s Guide to Bystander Interventions:
www.ihollaback.org/app/uploads/
2016/11/Show-Up_CUPxHollaback.pdf
White Sexual Imperialism: A Theory of Asian
Feminist Jurisprudence: www.wlu.edu
Coalition of Asian American Leaders:
https://caalmn.org/asians-mns-alliance-4-justice/
take-action-against-anti-asian-racism
Solidarity messages & call to action statements:
White House Memorandum Condemning and Combatting
Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States:
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-ac-
tions/2021/01/26/memorandum-condemning-and-combat-
ing-racism-xenophobia-and-intolerance-against-asian-amer
icans-and-pacific-islanders-in-the-united-states
Oregon Department of Justice:
www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/
uploads/2020/04/COVID-19_Call_to_Action.pdf
Multnomah County:
https://multco.us/multnomah-county/news/
multnomah-county-board-issues-statement-
condemning-anti-asian-hate-crimes
City of Portland City Council: www.portland.gov/
wheeler/news/2021/3/17/city-council-condemns-at-
lanta-shootings-stands-solidarity-asian-american
In Justice, Peace, and Solidarity,
Oregon Asian Community, Leaders & Advocates
Editor’s note: This open letter, signed by hundreds of organizations and
individuals, may be read in its entirety at <www.asianreporter.com>.
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