We at Cinnaire lift our voices in condemnation of the abhorrent violence against Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Island community members as exemplified by the recent murders of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia, six of whom were Asian women. We stand in solidarity and in support of the families and friends of the victims as they mourn the loss of their loved ones:
Soon Chung ParkÂ
Hyun Jung Grant
Suncha KimÂ
Yong Yue
Delauna Ashley Yaun
Paul Andre Michels
Xiaojie Tan
Daoyou Feng
At Cinnaire, we raise our collective voices to rebuke and act against anti-Asian racism wherever and whenever we encounter it. We continue to stand against hate in any form and recognize that we cannot hope to realize our Mission, our Why, when any of our fellow humans fear for their lives. When some of us are not safe, none of us are safe.
The racist scapegoating of Asian/AAPI communities has resulted in a dramatic increase in anti-Asian violence across the country. Hate crimes against Asian/AAPI people have increased over 150% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and 68% of these reported crimes have been against Asian/AAPI women. Over the past year, Asian diasporic people have been targets of nearly 4,000 reported hate incidents in the United States, and even before the pandemic started, Asian Americans were the third most targeted race/ethnicity group, following Black Americans and Jewish Americans.
The violence against Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Island members of our communities has a long history which has been too often ignored. These recent heinous acts of violence and murder are just one chapter in a much longer history of anti-Asian racism and anti-Asian racist actions in the United States. From the Chinese Massacre in Los Angeles in 1871 to the murders of Vincent Chin in Detroit in 1983, of Thien Minh Ly in California in 1996, and of Balbir Singh Sodhiwas in Arizona after 9/11/2001, hate crimes against Asian Americans have existed for centuries. When we, as a society, continue to dehumanize our Asian/AAPI brothers and sisters and view them through the lens of white privilege, we perpetuate the racism that can lead to this violence. The murders at the Atlanta spas are an escalation, a senseless tragedy and a vivid illustration of the importance of leadership that unites and the harm that divisive leadership can foment in our nation.
At Cinnaire, we raise our collective voices to rebuke and act against anti-Asian racism wherever and whenever we encounter it. We continue to stand against hate in any form and recognize that we cannot hope to realize our Mission, our WHY, when any of our fellow humans fear for their lives. When some of us are not safe, none of us are safe.
