Statement by Public Advocates on the Atlanta Murders

Public Advocates stands with our Asian and Asian American brothers and sisters and communities of color in condemning the racist and misogynistic murder of eight people, six of them women of Asian descent that occurred on March 16, 2021 in the Atlanta area. We join people throughout the country in mourning the loss of these irreplaceable human beings and condemning the rising tide of violence targeting Asians that has plagued many communities across the country.

The Atlanta murders occurred against a backdrop of increasing harassment, violence and hate crimes against Asian and Asian-Americans in the U.S. that cannot, and must not be tolerated. It is a backdrop that reaches 400 years into our American story but one that is regularly punctuated by shameful, jaw-dropping statistics and events such as the racist, anti-Asian naming of the Coronavirus by former President Trump that we know triggered renewed waves of harassment of Asians all over the country. Statistics have emerged, such as those of Stop AAPI Hate which alone received reports of nearly 3,800 anti-Asian incidents over the last year—a number we know represents just the tip of the iceberg; as well as the report by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, CalState San Bernardino, whichshowed a marked spike in anti-Asian incidents between 2019-2020 across 16 of America’s largest cities.

Moreover, we believe that this rise in violence targeting Asians cannot be separated from the escalating white supremacist violence and hatred against Black, indigenous and other people of color. During this time of national reckoning with racial injustice, the disgraceful legacy of anti-Asian violence and hate further exposed by the Atlanta murders must not be ignored.