LC Statement Regarding Recent White Violence and Attacks Against Asian and AAPI Community
In the spirit of solidarity, we’re encouraging residents, business owners, and other Lawrenceville stakeholders to join us in mourning the deaths of the victims of the brutal attacks in Georgia and Boulder, and to join us in speaking and acting against all violence and hate and in supporting the efforts of those demanding a safer, more inclusive community.
Monday’s shooting marked the seventh mass shooting in the United States in just seven days. The incident in Boulder is still under investigation, but we know that the Atlanta attacks, fueled by white supremacy and hate, have occurred against a backdrop of a disturbing rise in violence, discrimination, and xenophobia directed against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
Just hours before the attack on March 16th, Stop AAPI Hate released updated data detailing the alarming and increasing number of incidents that have been reported over the past year, including verbal attacks, vandalism, and physical assaults. Data shows that nearly 70 percent of victims were women, and that women reported hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. The rise in anti-Asian racist incidents across our country and these recent attacks are a direct result of white supremacy and misogyny.
We stand in solidarity with our Asian and AAPI neighbors, and all those suffering at the hands of white supremacy, and we acknowledge the responsibility we have in standing up against violence and hate.
We recognize that persistent and systemic discrimination and conscious and unconscious bias are still being perpetuated in our community. We have found stickers, posters and symbols from white supremacist groups in Lawrenceville, and many of our neighbors continue to share accounts of the racism and abuse that they experience here. We can’t accept these ideologies or this behavior.
It is with this sensibility that we have begun a review of our organizational policies and activities, strengths, and weaknesses, as we aim to improve our work and provide more transparent, equitable, and inclusive opportunities for the community.
Our approach to this work must be intersectional. With organizational values of equality and inclusivity, Lawrenceville Corporation recognizes the role that we can play in equipping our members, business owners, and neighbors in confidently speaking up, calling out racist and discriminatory behavior, and stopping it when possible. We will continue our work with Lawrenceville United and others in facilitating bystander intervention training in Lawrenceville, and in providing other resources related to understanding and addressing implicit, conscious, and unconscious bias. We will use our platforms to share research, information, and resources on confronting racism, hate, and violence, and to promote groups, efforts, and businesses who are actively working in this space.
Today we will join the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) and Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) Pittsburgh from 3 pm – 6 pm for a rally and march that they are hosting in solidarity with organizers from marginalized communities as they continue their legacies and their work, and we hope that you will consider joining us.
We sincerely thank those who continue to do this work and to lead in this space. We thank you, we support you, and we commit to doing all that we can to make the Lawrenceville community a safe, equitable, inclusive, and thriving community for all.
