Responding to Anti-Asian Violence

Massachusetts Town Hall on Anti-Asian Racism on Thursday, March 25

The rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic has directly impacted our friends, neighbors, patients, and colleagues. At Harbor Health, we are deeply troubled when people in our community struggle to stay healthy and feel safe because of racism.

We wanted to share an important statement championed by the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network (APIs CAN).  Harbor Health joined elected officials and local organizations in signing this statement.

APIs CAN along with local organizations will also host the Massachusetts Town Hall on Anti-Asian Racism on Thursday, March 25 at 6 pm.  You can download flyers for more information below.

Statement from the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network…

Community Organizations Respond to Anti-Asian Violence and Targeted Murders in Atlanta

APIs CAN and our member organizations and allies are enraged and devastated by the targeted murders of 8 people, most of whom were Asian American women, in Atlanta.

Increased and unchecked anti-Asian rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled xenophobia and anti-Asian racism. We have seen a rise in attacks on Asian Americans, particularly elderly people, across the country, and a lack of safety in all aspects of our community members’ lives.

From the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese Internment to the Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek to the disproportionate impact on Southeast Asians in the school to prison to deportation pipeline, racism against Asians is ingrained in this country’s history. Women and femmes experience the brunt of not only this racism, but also the sexist stereotypes of Asian American women, which leads to many types of violence, including what we saw in Georgia yesterday.

Asian American women are on the frontlines of our economic sectors, including as domestic workers and nail salon workers. Asian American women are also the center of our family lives as homemakers and caretakers. Asian American women live simultaneously at the margins of society and at the intersection of immigration, gender, race, and class.

We denounce violence against Asian American communities in all forms, and we call on local, state, and federal governments to:

• Support robust and responsive crisis intervention resources, including in-language support for mental health, legal, employment, and immigration services;
• Center transformative justice that begins with cross racial dialogue and community-building that address white supremacy as the root cause of violence and hate;
• Fund non-law enforcement strategies that invest in communities of color to address long-term systemic racism and extreme inequality — jobs, housing, immigration, healthcare, and To end violence, we must ensure our people have the resources and opportunities they need to lead dignified lives; and
• Focus on survivors’ needs to ensure victims and survivors of all backgrounds and language abilities receive full supportive multilingual and culturally appropriate services so they can recover and

APIsCAN is hosting a forum March 25, 2021 6pm-7:30pm highlighting how the Asian American community in MA is organizing against racism and learning how to support our community during the pandemic. RSVP at bit.ly/townhallaar.

Download the Town Hall flyer – English

Download the Town Hall flyer – Vietnamese