Condemning Anti-Asian Hate and Violence
This year, on March 16th, in an act of hate, a gunman in Atlanta murdered eight people, including six Asian American women - their names are, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant (Kim), Sun Cha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng. DevNW condemns the rise in violence against Asian communities since the start of Covid-19. In the United States, from 2019 to 2020, incidents of hate, discrimination and violence against Asian Americans have risen 150%.
Today, we stand with our Asian and Asian American communities to say enough. We are paying attention and we will call out racism, violence and hate when we see it, using our voice to encourage our clients, residents and supporters to do the same.
As a nonprofit community development organization serving all races and identities, we are committed to promoting safe, equitable and thriving communities for all. DevNW does not condone racism, discrimination, and violence in our workplace, communities, state and country. Acts of racism, discrimination and hatred will not be tolerated at DevNW.
Over the last year, we have engaged intensively in work around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, including a four week engagement on the Black Lives Matter movement and white supremacy culture; monthly all-staff trainings on the race equity continuum, gender, the immigrant experience, and trauma informed care; and most recently, engagement and discussion on materials centering the voices of people with lived experience. This work has been staff led, with valuable insight and learning from experts in the field, culminating in a DevNW Equity Commitment that all staff and leadership signed in early December 2020.
This Commitment recognizes and calls out the systemic oppression that creates environments and experiences of inequity for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, and other groups that have been historically marginalized, specifically within DevNW’s lines of business and programs. We further recognize that these disparities can only begin to be addressed with correspondingly greater resources today and in the future, and that we will allocate proportionately greater organizational resources to overcoming systemic inequalities.
To learn more about how you can take individual steps to confront anti-Asian violence in your community please review the list of resources below (borrowed from Launch and modified):
- Read and explore the literature on the Asian experience, including harmful stereotypes like the model minority myth that continue the systems of oppression which divide us.
- Shop at local businesses owned by Asian and Asian Americans;
- Visit these local, state and national organizations. Please consider making a financial contribution to support Asian American Pacific Islander communities in Oregon:
- Watch the PBS series Asian Americans about the history of identity, contributions, and challenges experienced by Asian Americans;
- Watch the Smithsonian’s video series We are not a stereotype: Breaking down Asian Pacific American bias which explores what it means to be Asian Pacific American and the impacts of Asian Pacific American stereotypes;
- Report any incidence of hate or bias locally to the Oregon Coalition Against Hate and nationally to Stop AAPI Hate or Asian Americans Advancing Justice.