Dear Community,
We extend our condolences to everyone affected by the horrific shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay over the past few days. Lunar New Year should be a time of celebration for many Asian families, and yet we find ourselves here again in an all-too familiar space of grief and despair.
Until we deal directly with the underlying systems of oppression that make human life disposable, we will keep finding ourselves here. We stand in solidarity with API-led social justice organizations, networks, and groups who are building a liberated vision for their communities: one where human life is valued, relationships are sacred, and self-determination is upheld.
We echo calls to turn away from the idea that we can police our way toward liberation, and instead urge philanthropy to continue to fund API-led power building groups creating a different vision for public safety. Anti-Asian racism is not new in this country, and yet it has intensified greatly in the last few years due to hateful and malicious propaganda surrounding COVID-19 and China. We reject racist narratives that try to turn these events into fodder for more xenophobia and Sinophobia, which only serves to create new cycles of violence.
There is no rubric for dealing with what may often feel like a relentless pace of violence, but we hope you are finding ways to hold space, grace, and compassion for your team and people this week, even as you find ways to support those most impacted.
In solidarity and partnership,
CompassPoint
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Resources for reflection, discussion, and action:
Year of the Water Rabbit / Cat "This Lunar New Year, Commit to Our Collective Safety by giving Lì xì to trusted API Movement Orgs addressing Anti-Asian Violence"
Angela Vo, Emergent Fund
Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund
Statement for AAPI Women Lead (Instagram Post)
Resource roundup from 18 Million Rising (Twitter Thread)
11 Ways Forward This Lunar New Year
From Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
Witnessing Each Other: Reflections on Our Asian Affinity Space
by Learkana Chong, CompassPoint
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