Over 70 Local Asian Pacific Islander Organizations Release Joint Statement Denouncing Xenophobia, Racism, and Increasing Acts of Violence Towards Asian and Pacific Islander Communities
As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities on a global scale, Asian Pacific Islander serving organizations, community leaders, and their supporters denounce the xenophobia, racism, and increasing acts of violence targeted towards Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities both locally and nationally.
United, we call upon our greater community at large to avoid the use of harmful language including labels such as “China coronavirus”, “Chinese coronavirus”, and “Wuhan Virus,” when defining a global pandemic afflicting humanity as a whole. Use of such language has led to an alarming increase in consequences ranging from unintended microaggressions to acts of violence and hate towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – further encouraging xenophobia, racism, and dividing us all.
Now more than ever, we call upon the San Diego community to be vigilant against acts of hate and to come together in calling out incidents directed not only towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – but also those inflicted upon Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Muslim, and LGBTQIA communities, as well as people with disabilities, each and every day. We urge elected officials and community leaders to lead by example by publicly condemning and standing against xenophobia and racism.
Let us come together as one San Diego in fighting this viral threat, building solidarity through collective action, and working towards a stronger, more compassionate, more inclusive tomorrow.
We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed an act of hate as a result of COVID-19 to report it HERE.
Helpful Links:
- Report an act of COVID-19 hate
- World Health Organization guidelines on naming new diseases
- FBI warning on increased hate crimes
- Press release on San Diego call to action
- Sign the support letter