If you are looking for ways to help the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the wake of the murders in Atlanta, plus increased hate crimes, harassment, assault and ongoing bullshit xenophobic prejudice, we have links.
First, call on the people whose job it is to enforce gun control: you can find your representatives in the US at 5calls.org. You set your location, pick the issue you’re calling about, and they give you a script to help you call your senators and representatives about that issue.
I do this every Thursday, and, heads up those of us with anxiety about talking on the phone (hi): a lot of the time it’s voicemail. I’ve spoken to a person once. One time. (And they were very patient as I had a few issues on my list).
I often feel that when confronted with a problem, I have figure out how to fix it. The hate and White supremacist structures that encourage it can’t be solved by one person, but I can do a lot to help, support, and address the pain of seeing more prejudice and more hate crimes. And my first step is to tell the people whose actual job it is to address these issues to do that job. Now.
Next: time and money and energy and speaking up.
We have a lot of links and options. Pick the ones that speak to you. To paraphrase my former senator Cory Booker, never let your inability to do everything prevent you from doing something.
NB: Not every group mentioned below is a 501c3. Many may participate in corporate matching programs, so check the matching options from your employer if that’s an option available to you.
Stop AAPI Hate.org – Report a hate incident, and share safety tips, and donate to support their work.
Via Stop AAPI Hate: “Donate to local efforts through the Movement Hub, a platform that brings together 40 Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations across the U.S. that address anti-Asian racism. These organizations are part of the Shared Liberation Network, an anti-racism response network.”
Locally in Atlanta, Asian Americans Advancing Justice focuses on “protecting the civil and human rights of Asian Americans in Georgia and the Southeast.”
Also in Atlanta: via Nicole Cardoza’s Anti-Racism Daily newsletter, the NAPAWF Georgia chapter, “which builds collective power with AAPI women and girls.”
The Asian Mental Health Collective, and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service in Seattle, WA, offer mental health support and address stigma of mental illness and care.
Red Canary Song is a collective of Asian and migrant sex workers working through mutual aid, one of the few massage parlor coalitions in the US: “There are over 9000 workplaces like these across the country with no political representation, or access to labor rights or collective organizing.”
Author RO Kwon shared information about free online bystander training for anyone interested: iHollaback.org Bystander Intervention to stop anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment.
Asian Americans for Equality was founded in New York City’s Chinatown, and “advances racial, social and economic justice for Asian Americans and other systematically disadvantaged communities, guided by our experiences as Asian Americans and our commitment to civil rights.”
Claudia suggests Compassion in Oakland, which offers chaperones for the elderly in the Oakland area amid other services.
If you have local or national organizations that you’d like to share, please drop links in the comments. The spam filters can be sensitive about comments with several links in a row, so if you don’t see your comment immediately, please be patient. I’m watching the spam filter closely today.
ETA: Today’s Anti-Racism Daily newsletter from Nicole Cardoza is terrific: “Stop the ‘lone wolf’ narrative” because White supremacy never acts alone.
I’m not Asian and I’m not American so I’m not sure that I am entitled to be as outraged as I am by the way the police reported on this horrible murder spree. “He had a bad day” seriously? Go hug a cat or something. Flip flopping over whether it was racially motivated? Yes,they were targeted attacks.I’m not blaming Trump for this person’s actions, but he really didn’t help when it comes to anti Asian attitude. Feel so sorry for the victims and their families.
Thank you so much for doing this. The shootings were at the very nexus of misogyny, racism, and the refusal to acknowledge sex work as work. The fact that the sheriff (whose Facebook page—surprise, surprise—apparently featured racist posts—) could say of a man who gunned down eight people, “he was having a bad day” was enough to induce a rage-stroke! The fact that he could say it in a way that implied we should understand and sympathize with the gunman was the very embodiment of white male entitlement. God help us!
Thank you for putting this list together, Sarah. I’m with you, I’m an action person and sometimes just adding my voice and putting it out there to people elected to fix the problem is the only way to start.
Roxane Gay also wrote a terrific piece in her newsletter on the racism perpetuated by the language of “China virus” that continues to persist in the Republican Party. Language matters and the language of our leaders matters more than we’d like to believe. All of us (American or not I think) have seen this stark reality play out this year.
Thank you for this, and I second the recommendation for Hollaback. They’re a hardworking organization trying to stop street harrassment of all kinds and they’ve been doing it for years. They work against verbal abuse towards women, LGBTQ+ persons, minorities–really, bullying on the street of any kind. I have to add a disclaimer–my gay son was on their board in NYC 10 years ago and he first brought Hollaback to my attention. They’re good people.
Thank you for doing this!
Thank you for making it easy for us to help by putting together this list.
@Darlene Marshall – I’m sure you had a momentary brain freeze when you wrote: “I have to add a disclaimer–my gay son was on their board in NYC 10 years ago and he first brought Hollaback to my attention”. Definitely not a disclaimer; perhaps “a full disclosure”, but in any case, ABSOLUTELY a well-earned brag on your son.
You’re correct, Betsydub. I should know better than to try and comment before the caffeine kicks in.