FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS STATEMENT
February 9, 2021
CONTACT
Yamuna Hopwood, Communications Manager;
415-274-6760 x319 [email protected] (English)
Jin Xia Niu, Chinese Language Media Specialist;
415-274-6760 x313 [email protected] (English, Mandarin)
Asian American Organizations Across the Bay Area
Join Forces to Demand Action Against Violence
We, the undersigned organizations, denounce violence against members of Asian American communities in San Francisco, Oakland, and the greater Bay Area. We stand in solidarity with victims, survivors, and families who have suffered loss and pain.
These violent assaults have made the especially difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic even more painful. From our Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese elders to our youth, our Asian American communities are traumatized, afraid, and outraged during a time when we are also experiencing disproportionate impacts of the pandemic. These include mass unemployment, safety risks to frontline workers, insecure housing, the shuttering of our local small businesses, and a surge in anti-Asian racism.
In the past year, we have seen an escalation of violence and other incidents against Asian American communities. The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center documented 2,808 hate incidents in 2020. Over 700 of these occurred in the Bay Area. And while we should not make any assumptions about the reasons behind these recent incidents — whether racially motivated or not — they have profound impacts on our Asian communities across the country and internationally. Our elderly community members, along with their families, are fearful of being in public alone, simply going for a walk, and living their daily lives. And survivors of interpersonal violence and their families have historically not received enough culturally-competent and language-accessible support across government systems.
We recognize that violence affects all of us and all of our communities. We must invest in long-term community-centered solutions that create spaces for cross-racial healing that address underlying causes and create ways for all to thrive. We believe that our strength is in unity, not division, and that our histories and our futures are intertwined. That is why we are committed to working with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Pacific Islander communities for long-term shared vision and solutions to stop the violence in all our communities.
We also recognize that it is up to us to keep our communities accountable and to holistically respond to generational trauma and violence. It is up to us to imagine what real safety could look like for our people, and to build the future we want to see — one that is grounded in accountability, justice, and care for each other.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, we must all come together to protect the safety of our community members who are feeling vulnerable during what should be a celebratory time. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland leadership must immediately increase culturally-relevant and trauma-informed investments that:
1. Ensure victims and survivors of all backgrounds and language abilities receive full supportive services so they can recover and heal.
2. Expand intervention- and prevention-based programs and invest in basic needs and community-based infrastructure that we know will end the cycle of violence and keep all of us safer.
3. Resource cross-community education and healing in Asian American and Black communities that humanizes all of us rather than demonizes or scapegoats any community of color.
As organizations with a long history of protecting and advancing the rights of communities of color, we know that an over-reliance on law enforcement approaches has largely been ineffective and has been disproportionately harmful to Black communities and other communities of color. We believe the solution to violence is to empower our communities with resources, support, and education — this is how we make all of our communities safe.
Signatories
AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund (AAPI FORCE-EF) Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
APA Family Support Services APALA -Alameda County Chapter API Equality-Northern California Asian Immigrant Women Advocates Asian Pacific Islander Council of San Francisco (API Council)
API Equality Northern California (APIENC)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network Asian Pacific Fund
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
Asian Refugees United
Asians 4 Black Lives
AYPAL: Building API Community Power Bay Rising
Cal-Nev Philippine Solidarity Task Force
(UMC)
Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC)
Chinese for Affirmative Action Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
Chinese Progressive Association Community Youth Center
CSU East Bay Ethnic Studies Department
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable
Economy (EBASE)
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC)
Family Bridges
Filipino Advocates for Justice Filipino Community Center
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco
NAPAWF Bay Area
New Breath Foundation
NICOS Chinese Health Coalition North East Medical Services (NEMS) Oakland Asian Cultural Center Oakland Rising
Pin@y Educational Partnerships Pine United Methodist Church-San Francisco
Rose Pak Democratic Club
Rotary Club of San Francisco
Chinatown
San Francisco Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
San Francisco Rising
SFSU: Department of Asian American Studies
Silicon Valley Rising
SOMA Pilipinas: Filipino Cultural Heritage District
South Bay Youth Changemakers Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC)
Stop AAPI Hate
Upcoming Oakland and San Francisco Days of Action
Stand in solidarity with the Asian and Pacific Islander communities by attending the Oakland Day of Action on Saturday, February 13 from 3-5 PM in Oakland Chinatown or the San Francisco Day of Action on Sunday, February 14, from 11 AM – 1 PM at Civic Center Plaza.
To learn more about the Oakland Day of Action, please contact
To learn more about the San Francisco Day of Action, please contact [email protected].
Quotes From the February 9 Virtual Press Event
Asian American Organizations Across the Bay Area Hold Virtual Press Event, Demand Action Against Violent Attacks Against Community Members
“The impact of this on the AAPI community has been devastating. From our Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai elders to Asian American youth, our community is fearful of being in public alone, simply going for a walk, or living their daily lives. These incidents are stark reminders that urgent action must be taken to protect our AAPI community from hate, discrimination, and violence.”
– Cynthia Choi
Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), Co-Executive Director
“The recent event has highlighted yet again the needs of Asian communities and the resilience of our communities. Asian Americans are all hurting from the surge of racism and violence. And now our community is uniting over systematic trauma. We are rising to push back on the unjust distribution of resources and focus on healing together.”
“近期的暴力事件再一次突出亚裔社区噶需求以及坚强的复原力。亚裔被激增的种族歧视 和暴力事件所伤害。 而现时我们的亚裔社区因为长期受到系统性创伤而凝聚一起，团结 一致对抗社区资源分配不公平的制度.”
– Jing Jing He
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Oakland Lead Organizer
“It’s been such a difficult year. People are desperate to survive. But we’re all also desperate to connect to one another. It’s difficult to shove a senior citizen to the ground if you see yourself in them, if you have a relationship with them. It’s difficult to racially profile someone if you’re not afraid of them, and can see that person as an individual. But we need to invest in community safety infrastructure and people who can bring those different communities into relationship.”
– Ener Chiu
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), Associate Director of Real Estate Development
“While there are no easy solutions, we know our power is rooted in our communities, the relationships we build, and the power we collectively grow together. And that cannot happen without investment in resources for healing, justice, and accountability; proactive relationship building in community efforts grounded in intervention and prevention; and resources for cross-cultural education and relationship building, which is not served with a greater police presence.”
– Stanley Pun
AYPAL: Building API Community Power, Co-Director
“It is up to us to keep our communities accountable. We must work together across cities, do the work to engage in the tensions, condemn anti-Asian racism with folks in our communities without being anti-Black, and fight for the resources we all need. The choice is ours. Let’s imagine what real safety could look like for our people, and build the future we want to see — one that is grounded in accountability, justice, and love for each other.”
– Lai Wa Wu
Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), Policy and Alliance Director 5
联系方式：
Yamuna Hopwood，资讯经理;
415-274-6760 x319 [email protected](英文)
JinXia Niu，中文媒体负责人;
415-274-6760 x313 [email protected](英语、普通话)
湾区亚裔组织联合要求采取行动反对暴力袭击
我们，代表以上署名组织，坚决谴责发生在旧金山、奥克兰和湾区针对亚裔美国人社区成员的暴 力袭击。我们与遭受损失和痛苦的受害者、幸存者以及他们的家庭站在一起。
这些暴力袭击使本就因COVID-19疫情变得困难的生活愈发艰难。无论是的华裔、泰裔和越裔的 年长者还是年轻人，我们亚裔的社区在遭受疫情严重影响之际，更是共同受到了创伤，并感受到 了恐惧和愤怒。这些问题包括大规模失业、一线医护人员面临的高风险、住房无保障、当地小企 业面临倒闭以及反亚裔的种族主义激增。
在过去的一年里，我们看到针对亚裔美国人的社区暴力增加以及类似事件的升级。停止歧视亚裔 和太平洋岛居民(Stop AAPI Hate)中心在2020年共记录了2808起仇恨事件。其中，超过700多起 发生在湾区。尽管我们不应该对这些事件发生的原因妄加揣测——无论背后的动机是否出于种族 主义——它们对全国乃至国际上的亚裔社区都产生了巨大的影响。我们的社区里，年长者和他们 的家人甚至会为独自一人在公共场合逗留，出门散步，或日常的生活而担心。从以往的事件来看 ，暴力事件的幸存者及其家人都没有从政府获得既结合他们的文化背景，并能用第一语言来交流 的支持。
我们认识到，暴力袭击影响着我们所有人的社区和我们每一个人。我们必须致力于寻找将社区放 在首位的长期解决方案，了解问题发生的原因，并为跨种族伤害的愈合创造空间，创造共同繁荣 的未来。我们坚信，力量在于团结，而不是分裂，我们的历史和未来交织在一起。这就是为什么 我们将致力于与黑人、拉丁裔和太平洋岛民群体合作，为制止所有社区所遭遇的暴力提供长期的 解决方案，并达成共同愿景。
同时，我们也认识到，我们需要鼓励自己的社区负起责任，携手面对这一代人所遭受的创伤和暴 力。要去想象对亚裔来说真正的安全是什么样的，并努力建设我们希望看到的未来——一个以安 定、正义和相互关心为基础的未来。
农历新年将近，我们必须团结起来，在这个值得庆祝的日子里，保护那些容易受到伤害的社区成 员的安全。旧金山和奥克兰的社区领袖们需要立即开始增加与文化相关和受创伤信息相关的投入:
1. 确保不同背景和语言能力的受害者/幸存者得到充分的支持和资源，以帮助他们康复。
2. 扩大以干预和预防为基础的项目，同时投入以终止暴力袭击和保证大家安全相关的基本需 求，并提升相关的社区内基础设施。
3. 提供帮助亚裔美国人和黑人社区提供跨互相了解的资源，通过强调人性的方式增进社区间 的感情，不要将特定群体妖魔化，或者把任何有色人种群体当作替罪羊。
作为一个在保护和促进有色人种群体权利方面拥有悠久历史的组织，我们知道过度依赖执法手段 在很大程度上是并不能解决问题，且同时对黑人社区和其他有色人种社区造成了更为严重的伤 害。我们坚信，解决暴力问题的方法是向我们的社区提供资源、支持和教育——这是我们确保所 有社区安全的有效方式。
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