A Letter of Solidarity From Diverse Alumni Communities of UCLA Addressing Hate and Violence Against the Asian American Pacific Islander Community

The global health pandemic and economic downturn have highlighted and exacerbated the realities of stark racial inequities facing the protection and safety of our Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities. On Tuesday, March 17, six Asian American women were murdered in Atlanta in another act of violence fueled by racial hate. This act of terror was nothing short of a racially-charged massacre. This was a culmination of increased acts of violence against members and elders of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community that have been on-going throughout the pandemic and, until recently, did not garner attention by the media.

These are not isolated incidents. This violence stems from a history of imperial conquests, destabilization of local economies, pervasive racism, misogyny and xenophobia that continually dehumanizes Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The recent surge in anti-Asian rhetoric throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified incidents of hate and violence against the AAPI community.

These senseless killings and violent attacks did not start with the pandemic, they have been in existence for far too long and the pandemic only heightened these attacks. In fact, it continues to heighten the erasure of the long history of racism, xenophobia and misogynistic violence towards our BIPOC communities.

With racially charged acts of violence against the AAPI community on the rise, distinct and intentional efforts must be taken in order to address hate and violence affecting our communities. In a national report from Stop AAPI Hate, 3,795 hate related incidents occurred in the last year. From March 21, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021, AAPIs from all 50 states experienced harassment ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults. These incidents stem from white supremacist violence as well as inter-communal racial tensions perpetuated by anti-Asian rhetoric and the Model Minority Myth which serve to divide communities of color.

These incidents of racially charged violence are not isolated. Acts of domestic terrorism motivated by white supremacy have riddled the past decade, from the murder of nine Black Americans at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, to a shooting rampage in an El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart that specifically targeted the Latinx community and resulted in the deaths of 23 people. Slack justice systems have further failed to name the root of this violence and fully hold the perpetrators accountable. In March 2020, Breonna Taylor, an Emergency Medical Technician who was shot in her own home by law enforcement, still has yet to have those police officers charged for her death.

This needs to end.

We need to name the racism that permits and encourages these continued acts of domestic terror and move toward an actively anti-racist system of accountability.

In solidarity, the identity-based alumni organizations of the UCLA Alumni Association stand with BIPOC communities that are continually impacted by acts of hate and violence. We extend our deepest care and support for any of our members grappling with the current national climate. We encourage alumni to become familiar with the resources to support AAPI members of our community and to learn more about the history of anti-Asian racism in the United States by visiting the Stop AAPI Hate website (partnering with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center) or exploring the #StopAsianHate Toolkit. Our alumni organizations sit in a unique position to address the impacts of these acts of hate. Through education and support, we seek to have a greater understanding of what intentional support looks like for each of our communities.

As Bruins, and members of the UCLA community, we have empathy and intention instilled within us. Acts of violence have no place in the world we seek to create together. We call upon our University and its partners to act. We seek support for our students and alumni during this time to address the aspects that perpetuate this anti-Asian violence and all other forms of racial injustices.