Dear Colleagues,
Members of our campus community and your wider communities have no doubt been shaken and distressed by last week’s attacks in Georgia. Our thoughts, grief, and sympathy go out to the victims, their families, and the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities.
We remember those who have been lost: Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue, and those injured, Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, in the Atlanta-area shootings. We know that this incident cuts deeply into the Asian community. These deaths are a reminder of the fear and violence that many have faced due to the increased anti-Asian bias from the racist rhetoric around the COVID-19 pandemic.
We know that attacks targeting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. But we also know that racism, including dehumanizing and violent anti-Asian racism, have been built into America’s culture for much longer. Each of us individually and we as a community must take action to condemn this violence, the hateful rhetoric that leads to it, and the deeper biases many of us have allowed to fester for far too long. We also must take time to remember the lives lost. We encourage you to learn more about the victims and take time to reflect on the loss their loved ones and communities are experiencing.
We, the leadership of United Academics, are with you in your fear and grief. Many departments on campus have shared resources for supporting students, teaching anti-racism, and seeking help; UA is happy to help you find some of those resources if you want them and haven’t seen them yet.
If there are more ways your faculty union can help you during this difficult time, please let us know.