Dear Stanford Community,
On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, an assailant traveled to three Asian-owned massage parlors in Atlanta and senselessly ended the lives of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. The Asian Staff Forum (ASF) and the Filipino American Community at Stanford (FACS) express our sorrow and alarm at this tragedy. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families of the victims. Although the suspect has allegedly claimed that his attacks were not racially motivated, law enforcement is still investigating this possibility. We know that gendered and racial stereotypes contribute to the hypersexualization and dehumanization of Asian women, leading to alarming rates of violence against them. This condemnable act of violence is only the most recent in over a year of increasing attacks and incidents of hate directed against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
StopAAPIHate recently released its 2020-2021 National Report of nearly 3,800 reported incidents of hate and violence against Asians over the past year. During our recent conversation with ABC7’s Dion Lim and Fremont Mayor Lily Mei on March 2, 2021, we learned that not every incident is reported, so the actual number of anti-Asian incidents is likely much higher.
We recognize that Stanford’s Asian American community and their allies are distressed by these acts of violence. We invite you to visit the FACS website and the ASF website for a list of specific resources and action steps. These resources are not exclusive to the AAPI community, and we encourage you to share them broadly. The Asian American Activities Center (A3C) also has provided a comprehensive list of resources for staff and students. We strive to build a more inclusive and supportive community in which we all share a sense of belonging, and we hope this message brings us closer to this goal.
In community,
Asian Staff Forum and Filipino American Community at Stanford
Contact the Asian Staff forum at asfboard ‘at’ lists.stanford.edu and Filipino American Community at Stanford at facsleaders ‘at’ lists.stanford.edu.