Reaffirming Our Commitment and Solidarity Amidst AAPI Hate Crimes and Guilty Verdicts

Dear Friends and Allies,

It has been over a month since the Atlanta Mass Shooting on March 16, 2021 which targeted Asian women and killed 8 people who we honor by saying their names:

Hyun J. Grant, Yong A. Yue, Suncha Kim, Soon C. Park, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yuan, and Paul Andre Michels.

The sexualization of the people who were murdered and the spas where the murders occurred requires a stronger analysis and understanding of our history of imperialism and sexual violence, harmful stereotypes and differentiating between sex work and sex trafficking (and when or if that is even a factor in the matter). In Asia, somatic practices that take one's mind, body and health into consideration are a part of daily life. Whether massages, acupuncture, bathhouses, or yoga, tending to one's bodies for the sake of health is a normal practice. It is not a sexual act nor is there anything sexual about somatic self care. However, when coupled with dangerous stereotypes getting a massage for self care can have detrimental and deadly consequences. Robert Aaron Long claimed to murder 8 people because of a sex addiction and when Cherokee County Captain, Jay Baker claimed the murderer was having a "bad day" it brings to light the normalization of violence against Asian people, and highlights how much work we have to do to dismantle the ideologies that allow these acts to occur. 

We even witnessed some anti-trafficking agencies perpetuating the objectification of Asian women and making assumptions that the spas where the deadly hate crimes occurred were affliated with sex work and or sex trafficking, masked in their own “Solidarity Statements.” Ideologies like that that have culminated from imperialism and white supremacy, and patriarchy has caused an over-policing of Asian small businesses and the treatment of Asian women as expendable. Additionally, some organizations in the anti-trafficking movement associate all massage parlors with sex trafficking. We call on the anti-trafficking community to not promote racist and misogynistic ideologies and stop supporting the stereotypical over-policing of Asian small businesses, and instead call for evidence-based practices

On April 16, 2021, a month after the Atlanta mass shooting, another mass shooting occurred at a FedEx facility in #Indianapolis ending the lives of 8 people, 4 of whom were a part of the Sikh community. Please join us in saying their name and remembering who they were:

Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Kaur, Johal Jaswinder Kaur, Amarjit Kaur Sekhon, Jaswinder Singh, Karli Smith, and John Weisert.

We ask for our friends and allies to join us and attend the National Solidarity Vigil for the Sikh community this Thursday, April 22, 2021 5pm PDT/8pm EDT.

Witnesses report that the gunman specifically hunted down Sikh employees. He is known to have visited white supremacist sites. Sikhs across America are in grief and trauma: The massacre opens a wound, going back to the Oak Creek massacre, and 9/11, and long before when Brown communities were being targeted as terrorists.

Both fatal shootings along with the nearly 3,800 reported instances of discrimination against Asian people since the start of the pandemic calls for much needed action and solidarity. It is imperative to see these attacks as interconnected with the need to dismantle white supremacy.

Stopping Asian Hate Crimes is Black Liberation is Disability Justice is Abolishing Anti-Immigrant Policies is Giving Back Land to Native Indigenous Peoples.

Last but not least, we would be remiss not to mention the guilty verdicts from the Chauvin Trial, and how the accountability of one police officer does not equate to justice. Justice would be George Floyd's life being valued enough to not be taken, and for his family and daughter to have them in their life. During the trial itself, more police killings against Black and Brown communities have continued. We honor those victims of police brutality and say the names of:

Daunte Wright Sr.(20), Adam Toledo(13), Roger Allen(44), Ma’Khia Bryant(15), Tyrell Wilson(32), Michael Leon Hughes(32), Iremamber Sykap(16), Andrew Brown(40), and Anthony J. Thompson Jr.(17).

We continue to do our work as Justice At Last Staff to dismantle white supremacy and continue to commit actions with our work to put an end to systemic racism, injustice, police brutality and mass gun violence. Harkening back to our June 8, 2020 Statement of Solidarity Advocating for Human Rights, Social Justice, & Racial Equity, Justice At Last is grounded in a commitment to human rights, the fight for justice for all trafficked persons, and the creation of a world where justice eradicates all forms of oppressive exploitation and empowers victims of trafficking to heal and gain self-sufficiency.

Below are some resources to provide you with the ability to join us in our commitment to eradicate systemic racism, injustice, police brutality and mass deadly gun violence.

AAPI Resources:

• Stop AAPI Hate

• AAPI Community Resources Offering Form

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice Bystander Intervention Trainings

• How to Respond to Coronavirus Racism

• #StopAsianHate Reading List

• Bystander Intervention Training to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment

Black Lives Matter Resources:

• Black Lives Matters

• Assata’s Daughters

• Black Table Arts

• Color of Change

• 612 M*A*S*H

• Justice for Black Girls

• Don’t Call the Police

Lastly, please stay tuned for our upcoming newsletter that will highlight all the great work our Board of Directors is doing to further our solidarity of advocating for human rights and by establishing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within Justice At Last.

In Solidarity,

The Staff of Justice At Last