Co-Signed Statement of Solidarity with the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
Los Angeles, CA – As an organization that advocates daily for a world where diversity is celebrated and inclusion is valued as integral to the success of the United States, it is our imperative to speak up on behalf of our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) brothers and sisters. We must speak out about what has now become a national crisis.
According to the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), one in four Asians experienced a form of racism in 2020. While racism certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, it isn’t difficult to see the connection between this increase in hate and the rhetoric that’s being used in connection with the global pandemic. These falsehoods must be called out and the actors who use that rhetoric to justify hate crimes must be condemned.
“As a Hispanic woman, I’ve seen this kind of blatant racism and discrimination firsthand. It’s painful. It’s frightening. And it holds us back from bringing our full abilities to bear. None of us should have to live in fear that we’ll be targeted based on nothing more than how we look, our culture, or heritage.” says SHPE CEO Raquel Tamez.
Now more than ever, during this time when we are all battling a global pandemic and an economic crisis, we must embrace and support each other. And now more than ever, it is critical that we amplify Asian voices; and that we speak out loudly about how important the AAPI community is to the past and future success of our country.
To show our continued support, SHPE has co-signed a Statement of Solidarity from SASE. We strongly encourage all of our members and partners to share this statement and join us in taking this stand against hate.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
- Educate yourself through advocacy organizations like Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ);
- Participate in bystander intervention training to learn how to respond to racist harassment;
- Report hate crimes using this incident reporting tool to help develop better anti-violence policies;
- Donate directly to victims who have experienced anti-Asian attacks;
- Attend SASE’s virtual Spark the Future competition on April 30, which asks teams to develop creative, engaging solutions to social justice challenges. Like all SASE programs, the purpose is to elevate AAPI voices and promote allyship among the global community.