We Stand with Our Asian American Pacific Islander Community

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Message from Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer and Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Michael Vu:

County colleagues,

We are heartbroken and horrified by the senseless mass murder carried out by a gunman in Georgia this week. Most of the victims were women of Asian descent. This attack follows a growing number of hate incidents and violence directed at Asian Americans. These hate incidents and violence demand our strongest condemnation and solidarity in opposition.

The killings took place on the same day Stop AAPI Hate released a new report documenting the prevalence of hate incidents against Asian American Pacific Islanders. The authors note, as is often true with this type of reporting, that the thousands of cases recorded are likely only a fraction of what’s actually occurring.

Many Asian Americans have reported an increase in discrimination since the start of the pandemic. As far back as last summer, three-in-ten Asian adults said since the outbreak began, they’d been subjected to jokes or slurs because of their race. That rate amounts to tens of thousands of our County residents – our neighbors and colleagues. 

We stand against racism in all forms against anyone. But at times, especially when a specific group is being harmed in a specific way, we need to focus on that group for reassurance that they are seen and that they belong.

We stand in support of the Asian American Pacific Islander community. We denounce violence and discrimination inflicted on the Asian American Pacific Islander community. And we commit ourselves to fighting racism against the Asian American Pacific Islander community.

The County has taken a number of important steps over the last year to raise awareness and address institutional racism and bias. The hate being experienced by Asian Americans is a reminder of just how much work there is to do.

Our employee resource groups are there to help us on that journey. They have reached out to their members with words of solace and a list of resources, both for our colleagues who need help during this distressing time, and for all employees to build recognition of the challenges faced by Asian Americans and how we can support them. We’re passing along what they put together here.

Our ERGs are working together on a statement and additional resources that we will share through InSite.

We encourage you to read their words and then follow through with the actions you can take to ensure equity and demonstrate support for our AAPI community.