Building Bridges. Opening Minds. Empowering Communities.

Dear friend of APF, Eight people were murdered in Georgia on March 16th. The killer's motive hasn't been conclusively determined, but we cannot ignore that six of the victims were women of Asian descent. This horrific attack comes after a year in which incidents of anti-Asian violence and discrimination have drastically increased. These disturbing trends have impacted residents of many different ethnic origins, including South Asians. Sadly, anti-Asian sentiment is not uncommon in American history. Early U.S. laws restricting immigration to America were explicitly targeted against Asians, and specifically East Asian women. Our own community was unable to obtain American citizenship until 1946. The frightening increase in anti-Asian bias must be seen in this historical context, which our community is very much a part of. We must also educate ourselves and the support the communities suffering from this latest tragedy. We've compiled the list of resources below as a place to start. Responding to Anti-Asian Violence and Georgia Shootings (Learning for Justice)  Lesson of the Day: A Rise in Attacks on Asian-Americans (New York Times Learning Network)  Addressing Anti-Asian Racism with Students (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)  The long history of racism against Asian Americans in the U.S. (PBS NewsHour)  Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit (Grassroots Asians Rising)  How You Can Support Asian American Communities Right Now (#HateIsAVirus)  Sending messages such as this one serves as a reminder that we must learn and convene around these issues regardless of the news of the day. I am proud that APF has focused on allyship and social justice issues throughout its regular programming. We commit to carrying on this important focus and look forward to engaging you in future conversations.

Shamila N. Chaudhary President, American Pakistan Foundation

AmericanPakistan.org

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