CFTA Statement on Violence Against Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander People
Recently there has been a surge of violence and racist sentiments against our Asian and Pacific Islanders brothers and sisters. At CFTA we want to raise our children in a community where there is no room for hatred of any kind.
Xenophobia against Asian runs deep through this country’s history and deserves acknowledgement and strong condemnation especially at a time when the nation and the world have been undergoing multiple deep and simultaneous crises (COVID-19, Racial unrest, Economic instability, job losses, school closures to name a few) creating a perfect storm of deep anger and desperation which became a fertile ground for Hatred.
White supremacy has thrived by pitting racial minorities against another, strategically sewing and cultivating these divisions. Asians have been highlighted as a model minority which has surmounted great historical obstacles including Racism and risen above these through a combination of hard work and a collaborative attitude. This stereotype has been contrasted against the Black American experience and has served to fuel long-standing animosity between the two racial groups in the same way that White Supremacy has pitted blacks against each other based on continent of origin or shade of blackness known as colorism.
We rise against white supremacy by standing in solidarity with our Asian brothers and sisters at this painful hour. We at CFTA understand how deep the wounds of Racism run and it is part of our mission to fight against them. As Martin Luther King said “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice”. Our dream is to leave for our children a community where one day Blacks, Asians,
Latinos, and Whites alike can only learn about Racism in history books and wonder “How was this ever possible that people judged each other based on the color of their skin and not the content of their character?”
We know that day is coming. The question is not if but when. We stand with our Asian brothers and sisters at this painful hour, like we have with our Blacks, Latinos and Ohlone brothers and sisters. As Amanda Gorman reminded us in her infinite wisdom, we are a country that is “not broken but simply unfinished”. “We close the divide because we know that to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside”.... “If we are to live up to our own times, victory won’t lie in the blade but in all the bridges we’ve made”...” that is the promise to glade, the hill we climb”.
