Village Statement in Solidarity with People of Asian and Pacific Islander Descent

The Village Group recognizes and supports the members of our community of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry. We know that recent events, including the murders of eight people near Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent, and attacks in Oakland and San Francisco have been upsetting on many levels to our Ruth Acty community of teachers, staff, and families. We join people throughout the country in mourning the loss of these irreplaceable human beings and condemning the rising tide of violence targeting people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent that has plagued many communities across the country.

While we are encouraged by the worldwide response to these and other events, this rise in violence targeting people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent cannot be separated from the escalating white supremacist violence and hatred against Black, Indigenous, and all other people of color. This hate and violence based on ancestry or skin color are lived experiences of many members of our Ruth Acty community. This is another reminder that working for justice and equity is a shared responsibility of all. We must commit time, energy, and money to the anti-racism and anti-hate work that communities of Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Indigenous, Latinx people and people of color have been building for centuries. 

Since 2011, our parent-led group - first as the Black Families Group, and then as the renamed Village Group - has been dedicated to challenging structural racism and promoting the goals of economic and racial equity in our school community. We aid the school administration by brainstorming ways to ensure culturally inclusive practices throughout Ruth Acty and at all school-wide events. The Village Group strives to create a sense of purpose and belonging for all families, and we are committed to making our school and society a more just place to live. We address hate and racism head-on with commitment, love, honesty, and courage. While we don’t have all the answers, we believe in taking concrete anti-hate and anti-racist actions in our homes and at Ruth Acty, and continuing to have the uncomfortable-yet-necessary conversations that will contribute to making the Ruth Acty community truly welcoming and supportive to all of us. 

 In this distressing moment, compounded by the distance and isolation caused by a global pandemic, we must again come together in unity and acknowledge our interconnectedness. We must reaffirm our commitment to building a community where all of us belong and feel safe, empowered and celebrated.

The Village recommends this children’s book:

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Stan Yogi, Yutaka Houlette and Ruth Acty alumni parent, Laura Atkins

Resources and actions recommended by Showing Up for Racial Justice Bay Area:

  1. You can support the families of the victims of violence in Georgia here.

  2. Consider donating to the AAPI Community Fund.

  3. Learn more about actions you can take to Stop AAPI Hate.

  4. Attend a free, 1-hour, online Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment workshop presented by Hollaback! and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ).

  5. Join the Chinese Progressive Association’s community space in San Francisco tomorrow, Saturday, March 20, at 12:00 pm. "From the Bay to Atlanta: A Safe Space for Asian Americans to Grieve and Rage" will center immigrant, Asian-identified folks, while non-Asian allies are also welcome. It will be safely socially-distanced, family-friendly, and delivered in Cantonese and English. (Asian American Organizations Across the Bay Area Join Forces to Demand Action Against Violence)

  6. Read and/or have your organization sign on to this statement from Red Canary Song, a grassroots collective of Asian and migrant sex workers, calling for protection and rights for Asian massage workers and not an increase in policing in Asian communities. You can also support this visionary organizing here.

  7. Educate yourself and share timely articles here and here about the intersection of racism and misogyny in the Atlanta shootings and white supremacist efforts to divide Black and Asian American communities and how they have worked to find common ground.

Caitlin Appert