WiG Leadership Statement on Atlanta Murders
We, the leadership team of the Coalition of Women in German, condemn the horrific murders of eight people in Atlanta on March 16, 2021. This act was motivated by anti-Asian racism, white supremacy, and misogyny. We are frustrated to see news coverage and statements by law enforcement that seek to minimize the hateful foundation out of which these actions arose. We express our deep solidarity with all Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander members of our communities. The violence against these communities has a long history in North America and in Europe that has too often been ignored. This ignorance extended to our own recent community agreement in which we failed to articulate our commitment to anti-Asian racism in the statement of our core values. We have revised this statement so that the final line now reads: “Members’ scholarship and practice aim to address and challenge manifestations of antisemitism, anti-queer, anti-trans, anti-Muslim, xenophobia, classicism, and ableism, as well as anti-Indigenous, anti-immigrant, anti-Roma, anti-Asian, anti-Black and other forms of racism in creative, compassionate, productive, and intersectional ways.”
We promise to live up to these values by using our collective voice to rebuke and act against anti-Asian racism and misogyny however and whenever we can.
Here are some resources for continued education and action:
- A helpful summary of the history of anti-Asian violence in the United States: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-violence-has-surged-u-s-covid-19-it-n1259858
- Informative resource for how you can act now: https://stopaapihate.org/actnow/
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice: https://www.advancingjustice-alc.org/
- Anti-Asian Violence Resources: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/
How to combat anti-Asian violence: https://time.com/5947603/how-to-help-fight-anti-asian-violence/