We are so saddened to hear about the hate crimes against Asian -Americans in Atlanta. The Cultural Competency team at Vista would like to increase awareness about the racism that continues to be experienced by those in our communities. We would like to use this as call to action to continue to look for ways we can be supportive to everyone in our communities, regardless of race, gender, ability or sexual orientation. Below is a helpful article with some anti-racism resources to support Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hopefully it can help us all to explore ways to continue to support those in our community as they face these issues.
Some key ideas:
Some key ideas:
- Recognize why racism might not be as easy to to see against Asian Americans and share stories to help dispel these myths
- Don’t dilute language when talking about hate crimes and racism. Factual information furthers the conversation in helpful ways.
- Seek out mutual aid efforts. Policing is not necessarily the answer. Volunteer to help someone in your community, such as going shopping with them or running errands if they feel the environment is unsafe. Or write letters to your politicians.
- Racism against Asian-Americans has been fueled during the pandemic by the former president calling it the “China Flu.” As we know, words do matter. If you do hear someone making statements such as these, arm yourself with an argument against this. Gather information from a wide range of resources to be inclusive of the diversity within the group as a whole.
- Donate if you are able. There are several organizations listed in the article if you would like to donate.
- Acknowledge your own biases
More information can be found at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-racism-resources-support-asian-american-pacific-islander-community-n1260467