Read full letter here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1viwoCaiFwWnn3xynvJW3oxh9ihvB0gN4ksQ1c_FC7aM/edit?usp=sharing

We are a coalition of multiracial youth, parents, educators, advocates, and community members who have come together to condemn the horrific violence committed against Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Xiaojie Tan, 49, of Kennesaw; Daoyou Feng, 44, in Georgia; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Hyun Jung Grant, 51, in Georgia; Soon Chung Park, 74, of Atlanta; Suncha Kim, 69, in Georgia; and Yong Ae Yue, 63, in Georgia. Victims, mostly women of Asian descent whose lives have been minimized to narratives related to where they work by mainstream media stories. That this particular act of violence targeted Asian women working in what’s been described as a massage parlor, who can often face various forms of victimization, exclusion, and silencing, make it especially important for us to understand the intersectional forms of oppression many face. Their lives and families are important, and we hold them in our hearts.

We also stand together as New Yorkers to condemn the 1900% increase in hate crimes against our Asian identifying (particularly East Asian presenting) fellow New Yorkers. We stand in solidarity, and in partnership with leaders in the Asian American community to reject this violence, and to situate these events in the long history of racial violence against the Asian community in this country. This violence did not just appear because of the pandemic, it has been incubated by a society steeped in white supremacist values; and accelerated by the explicitly racist rhetoric spewed by the former president and other elected officials. That this violence at times has been perpetrated by other Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) only reinforces the insidious nature of white supremacy and the ways even BIPOC can consume its poisons.

This is a moment when we must see things like the model minority myth, perpetual foreigner and other harmful stereotypes of Asian people for what they truly are: tools to incite racial resentment, to maintain racial division, promote white supremacy and xenophobia, anti-Blackness and colorism. This is a moment for all of us to recognize the recent uptick in racial violence against Asian presenting people is violence against all communities of color. This is a moment for us to acknowledge and disrupt the pervasive presence of anti-Black racism within the Asian community, and refrain from using this pivotal moment in history to elevate anti-Black policy responses or narratives that will further criminalize all communities of color. The response to this violence is NOT more police. It is COMMUNITY and SOLIDARITY.

This moment calls on all of us who stand for racial justice to articulate a vision for multiracial democracy that is grounded in liberatory practices, and to recognize the long history of cross-racial solidarity between Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, and their white allies.

In solidarity with the Asian Community, we commit to:

- Making space and sharing resources within and across our communities to engage in discussions about anti-Asian racism and violence and ways to disrupt it.

- Supporting and partnering with organizations in Asian communities.

- Educating our communities on the history of anti-Asian racism, the history of how anti-Asian racism hurts all BIPOC, and the shared struggle for liberation across communities of color.

- Addressing head-on the uncomfortable issues related to anti-Blackness, intersectionality, privilege and power, particularly those that situate some Asian people in closer proximity to the benefits afforded white communities, which perpetuates the model minority myth.

Our Demands/Expectations

The violence of white supremacy is learned and upheld by our policies, practices, and beliefs. We need action on each from City leadership. This will require both short and long term solutions, requiring a citywide approach. Therefore, we present the following demands which include actions we expect of the Mayor, and of New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter, because we must not only make New York City streets safe for all New Yorkers, we must ensure New York City public schools are safe and welcoming environments that reject all forms of racism, and value all our students. This moment calls for community building and public education. With a massive infusion of federal money, the city has a critical opportunity to build the foundation for the long term work and investments that will be needed.

In the short term, we demand Mayor de Blasio:

- Commit NOT to increase the presence of police or the use of carceral solutions.

- Provide support and resources for community/neighborhood led solutions to anti-Asian violence

- Provide a plan for addressing the needs of survivors of anti-Asian hostility, harassment and violence through a culturally responsive lens, including language accessible support services, mental health access, and economic assistance if needed.

- Fund a public education campaign led by New York City youth, parents, and educators, on the history of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States and New York City, as well as the contributions of Asian American people to civil rights, solidarity movements, and other innovation in our society.

- Train NYC educators and school staff immediately on the history of anti-Asian discrimination, the racialization of Asian Americans, the contributions of AAPI people, and how to interrupt and intervene in anti-Asian hostility and harassment in schools.

- Fund community-based organizations to provide in-language bystander/upstander training specifically focused on intervening to stop violence against Asian Americans.

In the long term, we demand the NYC Mayor:

- Make significant investments in Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education (CRSE) as a means of educating and honoring all communities, especially the contributions of Asians. This must include at least $500 million of the federal stimulus funds to create a new, culturally responsive curriculum for PreK-12 English - Language Arts. Our schools have a responsibility to ensure all students receive an education that is free of racism and white supremacy.

- Launch an Ethnic Studies course, designed by NYC youth, educators, parents and community members, that covers key elements of Asian American history and the history of solidarity among BIPOC communities that would be accessible to all New Yorkers, and launched in New York City public schools.

- Collect and report disaggregated Asian American data by ethnic groups whenever demographic information is collected. Collecting and using disaggregated data ensures we do not treat Asian Americans as a monolithic group in policy decisions and is essential in identifying disparities and inequities within the diverse Asian American community.

- Build and fund more school and community-based organization (CBO) partnerships in school districts with Asian American populations, to provide language accessible and culturally responsive related social support and enrichment programs.

- Develop pipelines to increase, recruit, and retain Asian American representation among teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, and administrators.