Dear Community,
We are devastated by the shootings in Atlanta, Georgia that led to the murder of 8 people, 6 victims who were targeted as Asian women, by a white domestic terrorist. The further mistreatment by the police and media who have not officially deemed this a hate crime is racist and abusive to the victims’ families and all Asian American Pacific Islander communities already severely impacted by the pandemic. We know that many of you are feeling emotions of fear, anger, frustration, and grief over these events as we have been witnessing the anti-Asian violence rise in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation. Also coupled with the shooting in Boulder, Colorado this week resulting in Islamophobic rhetoric, we condemn these plagues of racism, sexism and xenophobia. We resist the white supremacist systems and institutions that are embedded in American society that suppress Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.
This is why we are making a commitment to making our voices heard through art, culture, and storytelling. We want to highlight the ways we are building empathy, humanizing, and instilling compassion for our people by increasing our visibility and calling for others to #LoveOurCommunities. We see cultural expression as a pathway to sustaining our mental and spiritual health. We are committed to fostering solidarity building, collaboration, and connection in the face of divisive oppression. Our art and artists are instrumental in educating the public on our stories, letting society know we are more than a victim and that we are strong, resilient, and empowered.
We will achieve this through unity - we are dedicated to coming together with AAPI artists and arts organizations to combat all forms of oppression. We are devoted to uplifting and communicating the value of our work, and we will continue to spread the word about AAPI art, events, and programs. We ask that you follow us on social media and promote us by sharing our work, listening to us, watching us, and actively discussing our collective issues.
If you are an AAPI identified artist or work for an arts organization and would like to sign your name onto this collective statement, please email [email protected]
In Solidarity,
|
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center Asian American Women Artists Association Asian Improv aRts Andi Wong, ArtsEd4All Arts for a Better Bay Area Audrey Thao Berger Bindlestiff Studio Carma M. Zisman, Executive Director, ODC Celine Schein Das, Executive Director, Chitresh Das Institute Charlotte Moraga, Artistic Director, Chitresh Das Institute Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco Del Sol Quartet dNaga East Wind ezine Eth-Noh-Tec Eugenie Chan Theater Projects Flo Oy Wong Francis Wong GAPA Theatre Genny Lim Harvey Lozada Johnny Huy Nguyen Jon Jang |
Jyun Jyun |
RESOURCES
Collective Statements
Sign on to Chinese for Affirmative Action’s Statement to Demand Action Against Violence
Sign on to AAAJ-ATL’s Community-Centered Response to Violence Against Asian American Communities
Support Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Rights
Sex Worker Outreach Project
Red Canary Song
Butterfly
Reporting & Community Safety
STOP AAPI HATE
Oakland Chinatown Coalition Community Strolling Program
OCA AAPI Hate Crimes
We Are Not A Virus
Support API led organizations
Chinese Progressive Association
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay
Save Our Chinatowns
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
AAPI Women Lead
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project
Resources for Survivors of Sexual Violence
Asian Women’s Shelter
San Francisco Women Against Rape
Medical and Mental Health Support
Asian Health Services
Asian Community Mental Health Services
Asian Mental Health Project
Legal Services
API Legal Outreach
Bay Area Legal Aid
Inter-Cultural Solidarity
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland
Tsuru for Solidarity
Other Resources
STOP THE HATE PSA by Ikeibi Films
Statistics on Violence Against API Women (Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence)