February 12, 2021

As community-based organizations and foundations committed to racial equity and justice for Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities of color, we come together to send a clear, unified message of solidarity opposing xenophobia, discrimination, and violence. We denounce the recent violent crimes perpetrated against the elderly Asian American community within the Bay Area and nationally. We stand in solidarity with the victims, their families, and all who have been affected by these horrific acts.

Attacks against the API community are not new, and the pandemic has exacerbated the long history of anti-Asian rhetoric and xenophobia. Whether race-based crimes or crimes of opportunity, we cannot allow these heinous acts against our elders to continue. We call for our elected leaders to take swift action to protect our ethnically diverse communities from further violence. We call for solutions that address the root cause of such violence by investing in education, resources, and community-based solutions, such as:

• Raising awareness and ending the silence by insisting that our diverse community and elected leaders speak publicly on mainstream and ethnic media condemning these attacks;
• Prioritizing community-based response to protect vulnerable communities that does not involve or rely on increased law enforcement intervention and perpetuate violence and trauma against Black and Brown communities. Our communities have organized and advanced community solutions to ensure safety for generations. We must honor this wisdom and experience and use it to guide solutions now; and
• Conducting cross-cultural community education to promote empathy, understanding, and a shared responsibility for an end to violence and communal healing.

The API community continues to be the target of racism and hate-based violence, compounded by the social consequences and rhetoric of the COVID-19 pandemic. We need a systemic, comprehensive, and multi-racial approach to address racism at all levels. If we want to succeed in ending hateful attacks against any of our communities, we must stand together, work together, and denounce racism together.

 

In Solidarity,

 

African Diaspora Network

American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley

American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley AAPI Caucus

Alum Rock Counseling Center

American Muslim Community Foundation

APJCC Preschool

Asian American Recovery Services, a program of HealthRIGHT 360

Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)

Asian Law Alliance

Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute

Behavioral Health Contractors’ Association

Bill Wilson Center

CAIR San Francisco Bay Area

Cambodian Women’s Association

Caminar

Cancer CAREpoint

Center for Excellence in Nonprofits

City Year San José/Silicon Valley

Coalition for Justice and Accountability

Community Health Partnership

Community Services Agency

Community Solutions

Destination: Home

Educare California at Silicon Valley

Fred Finch Youth & Family Services

Gardner Health Services

Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley

Horizon Services

Indian Business & Professional Women

Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley

International Children Assistance Network

Japantown Neighborhood Association

JCRC of Jewish Silicon Valley

Law Foundation of Silicon Valley

LEAD Filipino

LifeMoves

Lighthouse of Hope Counseling Center

Maitri

Mekong Community Center

Momentum for Health

Morado Consulting

Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)

Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute, School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza

NAMI Santa Clara County

National Compadres Network

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence

Our City Forest

Pakistani American Community Center

Parisi House on the Hill

Peninsula Family Service

PIVOT – The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization

Project HIRED

Project Safety Net, Inc.

Recovery Cafe San Jose

Sacred Heart Community Service

San Jose Nikkei Resisters

San Jose Taiko

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits

SOMOS Mayfair

SV@Home

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

The Health Trust

The Wilfred Jarvis Institute

United Way Bay Area

Unity Care

Valley Medical Center Foundation

Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action

Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR)

Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation (VIVO)

West Valley Community Services

Working Partnerships USA

You Belong Here Foundation

Youth Community Service

Yu-Ai Kai Japanese American Community Service Center

YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley