Message of Support and Solidarity
Dear Law School Community,
It is with a heavy heart that I am sending another email after the one we sent on Monday addressing the alarming rise in violence against Asian communities across the country. These acts of violence offend the values we hold at UCI Law. The deeply disturbing increase in hatred and crimes against Asian and Asian American people this year also coincides with an alarming increase in gender-based violence during the pandemic.
On Tuesday, eight individuals were murdered in Atlanta. Seven of those who lost their lives were women and six were of Asian descent. We remain mindful of Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s recent statement that “[m]isogyny and racism too often coalesce into violence against women of color." Regardless of the motive, this horrific tragedy coincides with the escalation of violence against people of Asian descent.
These horrific murders also serve to remind us of the deeply problematic history of racism and xenophobia in law enforcement. Captain Jay Baker, the spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the department that will be investigating the murders, downplayed the killings and was found to have posted an offensive and racist message on social media related to the pandemic.
UCI Law condemns racism, xenophobia, and violence against Asians. As a law school, we are well aware that the law has played an important part in the violence and racism against Asians in the United States, including but not limited to the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, California’s 1913 Alien Land Law, and the Korematsu decision. We denounce intolerance, hatred, racism, sexism, misogyny and violence in all of its forms.
We are committed to creating a welcoming community for all people. We have been in touch with APALSA and will continue to hold conversations on these critical issues because combatting racism requires societal change and sustained efforts from all of us. We are also hoping to co-sponsor an event with the School of Social Science in the coming weeks.
Any member of the UCI Law community who is negatively impacted by these events may seek help from The Counseling Center by calling (949) 824-6457 or by going to https://counseling.uci.edu/ (including after hours care and emergencies, the UCI CARE Office, the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity or get in touch with me or another member of the law school administration, faculty or staff. Below are some additional resources for advocacy provided by Julia Choi at UCI. She will continue to post resources here: https://www.facebook.com/uciasianam
RESOURCES:
Report
Get Involved
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)
https://www.advancingjustice-la.org/who-we-are/about-us/orange-county
AAJC is sponsoring Bystander Training workshops. You can find more information here:
https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)
Red Canary Song – organizes with Asian and migrant sex workers in NYC (anti-trafficking, pro-decriminalization)
Watch
"How to address the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes" -- interview with activists Helen Zia and Amanda Nguyen
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-how-to-address-the-surge-of-anti-asian-hate-crimes
Read
Jennifer Ho, "To Be an Asian Woman in America,"
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/opinions/to-be-an-asian-woman-in-america-ho/index.html
Donate
Support Georgia’s Asian American Community
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-georgias-asian-american-community
Asian American Advocacy Fund -- Asian Americans for a More Progressive Georgia
https://www.asianamericanadvocacyfund.org
Please take good care.
Very truly yours,
L. Song Richardson
Dean | Chancellor’s Professor of Law