This week marks four years since a gunman entered three Asian-owned spas in Georgia, taking the lives of eight individuals, including six Asian women. The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) stands in solemn remembrance of the victims and reiterates its commitment to advancing fairness, safety, and dignity for Asian American communities.
“As we mark this painful anniversary, we must continue to confront anti-Asian hate and advocate for policies that ensure safety and justice for all,” said Gisela P. Kusakawa, Executive Director of the Asian American Scholar Forum. “At the Asian American Scholar Forum, we remain steadfast in uplifting Asian American communities working tirelessly toward a future free from hate and fear.”
Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise since the pandemic. The most recent data from the FBI showed a 168 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crime incidents reported from 2020 to 2021. According to research almost half (49%) of AAPI adults experienced an act of hate due to their race, ethnicity, or nationality since 2020. These stark facts serve as a reminder that hate remains pervasive across AAPI communities.
We honor the memory of Xiaojie ‘Emily’ Tan, Daoyou Feng, Hyun Jung (Kim) Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, Yong Ae Yue, Paul Andre Michels, and Delaina Ashley Yaun González. Their lives mattered.
The Asian American Scholar Forum echoes the calls from public leaders to honor the victims’ legacies with continued action against hate, discrimination, and violence.
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Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) is a national nonprofit that promotes academic belonging, openness, freedom, and equality for all. In response to heightened anti-Asian sentiments and profiling in the U.S., AASF has been a leading national voice fighting for the rights of Asian American and immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars. AASF membership includes members from the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, in addition to past and current university presidents, provosts, vice provosts, deans, associate deans, and past and current department chairs.
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