Dear Enroot Community,
I write to you again with a heavy heart in the wake of yet another unthinkable act of racist and sexist violence. The brutal murders of 8 people, including 6 Asian-American women, in Atlanta are just the latest example of a horrific rise in acts of racist anti-Asian violence over the last year.
Racist violence perpetrated by white people toward people of Asian descent is not new in this country. It goes back at least 180 years and is visible in daily life from coast to coast. But the xenophobic rhetoric of our former President and many other public figures, especially over the last year, has led to a national crisis that is not being properly addressed. As reported in the New York Times, the group Stop AAPI Hate found that nearly 3,800 hate incidents against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported nationwide over the last year. This crisis is rooted in white supremacy and has had a tremendous impact on the well-being and safety of the Asian-American community. And it is getting worse. Tuesday’s killings only exacerbate feelings of not belonging, of not being seen as equals, and of not even being safe in one’s own community.
In addition to targeting individuals of Asian descent, the killer targeted women. It’s important to note that of the 3,800 hate incidents documented last year by Stop AAPI Hate, 68% targeted women. This country, and societies all around the world, have a well documented history of treating violence against women of color less seriously than similar violence perpetrated against white women and men. Often violence against women of color, even fatal violence, is rendered nearly invisible by our collective responses in the immediate aftermath and months following such incidents. Also well documented is the way women of Asian descent are objectified and hypersexualized in this country. Our routine collective failure to respond appropriately to such situations reinforces the dehumanization of women of color and makes incidents like this more likely to reoccur. If Tuesday’s killer had not been socialized to perceive women, and especially women of Asian descent, as less human, he would not have targeted them, and would not have been capable of committing such unthinkable acts of violence. If white supremacy, misogyny, and toxic masculinity were actively challenged by most individuals in our society, instead of mostly left unchecked, acts of violence against women of color would be less common.
Changing this pattern is all of our work. It will require everything from subtle changes in our everyday conversations and media consumption, to major structural reforms that address the systemic underpinnings of the racism and sexism manifested in these killings. It will require that each of us take an honest look in the mirror, locate ourselves in this crisis, and consider what specific changes we will make in our lives. It is especially incumbent upon white people, men, and especially white men, to devote focused effort to combating anti-Asian hate, and violence toward women of color.
Enroot is deeply proud of, and grateful for, the incredible contributions that our students, alumni, volunteers, and board members of Asian descent have made to strengthen our community over the last few decades. We are especially proud of the students currently in our program who are of Asian descent, who courageously continue pursuing their dreams despite facing constant acts of racism, white supremacy, and violence.
Enroot stands in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in our own community and across the country who are of Asian descent. We remain resolved to work as a community to dismantle racism, sexism, and oppression of all forms through our daily actions at school, work and home.
In solidarity,
Ben Clark