5-29-20
The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence joins in mourning the death of George Floyd and in standing in solidarity with those who call for justice. What happened on Monday is only one of many painful reminders that we still live in a country where some have less access to safety every day, simply on the basis of race. This is especially true for members of the African American community, who have consistently been made to feel unsafe, afforded less dignity, in their own neighborhoods and with those who should be there to protect. What’s more chilling is the fact that though these incidents are horrible, they are no longer surprising.
As an organization whose work is focused at the intersections of race and gender-based violence, we are conscious of how our own Asian and Pacific Islander communities are shaken by the hate spawned by the COVID-19 crisis. We have felt deeply how normalized racism has become, and how urgent the need is to challenge that, not only for our own communities, but across racial and ethnic lines. We are reminded of the wisdom of Angela Davis: that it is not enough to be non-racist; we must be anti-racist. That it is on all of us to challenge racism, and that we cannot build a more just world, with safety and compassion for every individual, except together.
We are committed now, more than ever, to work with partners and allies across sectors, languages, ethnicities, and races to end the inequities that foster violence, which hurts all our communities so deeply. We will continue to reach out to our diverse communities, and to deepen our understanding of how to strengthen our work for justice and safety, together.