Statement On Anti-Asian Violence
American exceptionalism is stronger for its multiculturalism. We Asian Americans are as American as baseball, Fuji apple pie, karaoke, or a sushi dinner.
The recent string of anti-Asian violence is a disgraceful stain on the fabric of America. The hate and vitriol lodged against our communities unveil an ugly truth that has always been there - violence against us has never stopped. Asian Americans have been on the receiving end of physical, verbal, and regulatory abuse for centuries - from the lynching of Chinese laborers and the Chinese Exclusionary Act of the late 1800s, to the pilfering of Chinatowns across the country into the turn of the 20th century, to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the ban on Muslim immigration in recent years.
The attacks on Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco, Noel Quintana in New York City, and many Asian businesses and elderly nationwide, come riding the abhorrent wave of prejudice that we Asians have had to endure since the start of the pandemic - a pandemic that we have been unfairly blamed for, with the unspoken permission of elected officials.
As the Asian American community heals and finds ways to cope, we ask for allyship from our brothers and sisters across every community of color.
United, we can eradicate the virus of hate.