Rocked by senseless and brutal deaths, the members of Georgia State University Senate's Cultural Diversity Committee stand up to say #StopAsianHate. Over the last few months, Anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed. We can trace the surge in hostility against Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders to the misinformation and misrepresentation perpetrated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While CA and NY have been the epicenters of new reported attacks (10x increase since 2019), our community was not spared. In fact, the Cultural Diversity Committee was working on a statement of support and call to action in response to these acts of violence across the nation when a horrific shooting spree brought the violence to our own doorstep. We read with horror about racist attacks on businesses with Asian and Asian-American employees, and the apparent minimizing of the crime itself in its aftermath. Many such hate crimes likely remain unreported due to longstanding cultural barriers and the lackluster response among various stakeholders in the larger community. Ranging from verbal assault to physical altercations, and increasingly escalating to murder, the harassment has left our Asian and Asian-American neighbors, colleagues, and students feeling—indeed, being—targeted and unsafe within our own communities.

The Cultural Diversity Committee and like-minded colleagues at Georgia State University write this letter to state, unequivocally, and in the most forceful terms that we condemn these incidents and the systemic racism that underlies them. We express deep solidarity with and support of our Asian and Asian-American peers, students, and community members at GSU. We further extend this support and solidarity to the communities across the nation, particularly those that have been hardest hit.

As allies, we acknowledge the profound trauma of these events and the historical context of the racism that fuels them. We encourage the reporting of events and their prosecution. We also stand in support of GSU’s Asian and Asian-American Faculty Affinity Group (AAAFIG) and wider Asian and Asian-American communities in advocating for change and demanding action and accountability for this sustained wave of racism. As we commit to taking action in our own personal and professional networks of influence, we invite you to join us to stop anti-Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate. We will continue to educate ourselves on the origins of anti-AAPI racism and surge trends related to COVID-19 stigma, and support those who witness and experience abuse in reporting the incidents. We will support AAPI organizations doing the groundwork of advocacy. Together, we commit to helping create a safer and more just environment where all of our community members can thrive.

In solidarity,

Please add your signature and join the Cultural Diversity Committee (of Georgia State University's Senate) as we ensure that our Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander brothers and sisters know how deeply they are supported by their community.