The Alliance Theatre condemns the violent hate crime that occurred less than 3 miles from our theater on Tuesday, March 16th, and denounces all forms of violence against the AAPI community.
Our immediate thoughts are with the families of the eight victims and with the strong and vibrant Asian and Asian American community in Atlanta, and beyond, that are taking the lead in responding to this violence.
Over the past year, we heard anti-Asian rhetoric escalate and witnessed how AAPI-owned restaurants and businesses carried the added burden of racism and xenophobia on top of a precarious economic situation. But the tragedy this week brought home the sheer magnitude of the subtle and overt forms of hate that have often crept under our radar, and our collective lack of action and accountability resulted in the heavy cost of the brutal killing of working-class Women of Color.
We honor and mourn the death of:
Xiaojie Tan
Delaina Ashley Yuan
Paul Andre Michels
Daoyou Feng
Soon Chung Park
Hyun Jung Grant
Suncha Kim
Yong Ae Yue
The story is sadly familiar, and how many times must we hear the same stories, and lose countless lives before we as other BIPOC and white allies do something about it?
This is an intersectional issue. Asian Americans have historically faced the contradiction of being both a model minority and perpetual foreigner used as a scapegoat during times of crisis; and Asian American women, who deal with sexism (hypersexualization, objectification) and racism are targets of violence produced through these biases.
As a theater, we aim to tell stories that combat the stereotypes that fuel hatred, but we cannot be allies onstage without standing by our AAPI partners, colleagues and friends right now off stage. As an institution we are interrogating how to meaningfully be in solidarity with our AAPI community and to amplify and support the work of rooting out the virus of racism. We insist that you also find how you individually can combat, challenge, and dismantle the various forms of hatred, oppression, and specifically anti-Asian racism that play a part in our community.
We are being led by these statements released by local Asian American organizations and resources that offer ways to support our local community at this time as a place where we begin:
- See the testimony of Bee Nguyen, Georgia House District 89 Representative
- Read the statement from the Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta calling for a community-centered response to the shootings. The organization dedicates itself to policy and activism work.
- Report anti-Asian hate incidents to Stop AAPI Hate: to report an anti-Asian hate incident or crime, fill out an online form. Languages available: English, 中文(繁體), 中文(简体), 한국어, Tiếng Việt, 日本語, Tagalog, ไทย, មែរ, Lus Hmoob, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, हिन्दी.
- Read self-reported hate incidents and report anti-Asian hate incidents (馬上報告, 立刻报告, 지금 신고하십시오, BÁO CÁO NGAY) to Stand Against Hatred to help AAAJ track hate.
- Follow local AAPI journalists including Fox 5 Atlanta Janice Yu and NBC Atlanta Chenue Her, and other members of the Asian American Journalist Association (Atlanta chapter). Some helpful guidelines on describing the shooting in Atlanta.
- Attend a free bystander intervention training hosted by the AAAJ, upcoming dates/time and registration details here.
- Join the Atlanta Justice Alliance’s Stop AAPI Hate Community Solidarity March
Saturday, March 20th at 1PM, Woodruff Park (Across from Walgreens) - Support organizations East by Southeast and Kollaboration that foster the work of Atlanta’s Asian American artists. Art is power!
- Find mental health resources for the AAPI community from the Asian American Journalist Association (AAJA)
Donate:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) Atlanta survivors fund (for families of Atlanta spa shooting victims)
- GoFundMe directly set-up for families of victims
