The Department of Asian American Studies is posting this statement from the Asian and Pacific Islander Graduate Student Alliance (APIGSA) in solidarity against anti-Asian racism and violence. Please also find a version of this statement on their website: https://apigsa-ucsb.wixsite.
----------------------------------
UCSB APIGSA Statement on the Murders of Daoyou Feng, Hyeon-Jeong Park, Julie Park, Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michaels, and the two as-yet unnamed victims in Atlanta on March 17, 2021
Dear APIGSA members,
In the horror and trauma of last night’s anti-Asian attack in Atlanta, we share your grief. We condemn the blatant racism, misogyny, and anti-sex worker violence. We mourn the loss of Daoyou Feng, Hyeon-Jeong Park, Julie Park, Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michaels, and the two as-yet unnamed victims, and hold their families and communities in our hearts today.
We also acknowledge that a restorative justice-modeled response rejects calls to expand the carceral state. We witness in anger the police response to this murderer’s* actions, which was to refer to him as having “a really bad day.” We remember that the carceral state is a product of white supremacy and anti-Blackness, and that it does not and cannot protect our communities. We call for models of justice that look beyond current violent systems towards a more just and liberatory future.
If you, or allies in your orbit, are in a position to do so, please consider donating to the following resources:
- this specifically Atlanta-based group for Asian organizing;
- an ongoing Google doc of Asian organizations grouped by state and community;
- this list of 61 ways to donate to Asian communities organized by goal (community restoration, legal defense, etc.);
- this Twitter thread for resources focused on immigrants, lower-income Asians, and sex workers;
- an Instagram thread with organizations and calls to action for non-Asian allies.
- Lastly, here is a thread on the entwined histories of anti-Asian and anti-Black racism and the need for solidarity.
Our work does not end here. As stated in our mission statement, APIGSA strives to create and maintain spaces of support for graduate students of Asian panethnicity, advocating for a more critically accurate representation of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students. Our work includes connecting our struggles and directing our anger in service of broader resistance movements.
We will be reaching out over the next few days with more offerings to help support each other. In the meantime, we appreciate any input on ways that APIGSA can continue to provide a stronger, more holistic representation of the issues concerning AAPI lives. We are here as community members, as resources, and as advocates.
In solidarity,
APIGSA board
https://apigsa-ucsb.wixsite.com/apigsa/about
*This statement was originally sent via email to the APIGSA listserv and broader UCSB AAPI community. The Department of Asian American Studies faculty respectfully replaced the phrase 'domestic terrorist' in the original statement with 'murderer.' We did so out of recognition that the label 'terrorist' has been used to deny the basic rights of Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans, as well as the human rights of Arabs and Muslims worldwide.
