In Response to the Atlanta Shootings on March 16
In light of the shootings in Atlanta on March 16, and the increase in racist and violent incidents against the AAPI community across our country, our Executive Director Bob Gittens recently wrote this address to the CFCS community.
CFCS Executive Director Bob Gittens
I am writing to express my outrage at the recent tragic violence in Atlanta which has taken the lives of eight people, six of whom, sadly, were women of Asian descent. As with so many others around the globe, I am shocked and deeply saddened by this horrific crime.
Once again, we have seen the terrible impact of gun violence in another mass shooting. In this instance, it was not violence directed at random individuals. We know by the killer’s own words that he directed his violence towards women. I realize that this crime is still under investigation and that the question of whether this was a racially motivated hate crime under Georgia is still under investigation. I understand that.
But there are important and disturbing facts we are already aware of that show us that we must respond to NOW.
The shooter, who has admitted carrying out these horrendous crimes, may deny being motivated by racism but the facts speak for themselves. He targeted strangers, in three separate locations, and most of his victims were Asian women. He has said that he committed these crimes due to a “sexual addiction”.
Sadly, we know that the Asian community has long been victimized by hate crimes in this country. That has been especially true since the outbreak of the pandemic. And Asian women in particular have long been the targets of sexualized violence. As Christine Liwang Dixon recently wrote on the Huffington Post website, “Statistically, the odds of being the victim of physical or sexual violence as an Asian American woman are quite high; 21% to 55% of Asian women in the U.S. have reported being victims” and she describes the fear she has had to live with.
This most recent act of sexualized racism should be a call to action for all of us. And whether the killer was conscious of his racial motivation is irrelevant to how we must respond.
While I was certainly aware of the increase in violence against Asians since the COVID outbreak, I had not fully appreciated the extent and depth of this problem. As I’m sure some have felt about the Black Lives Matter Movement, I am asking myself “how could I not have been more aware of this problem? It’s been happening right in front of me”. I know how sexualized our society is, l know how misogynistic our society is, I know that women of color are more likely to be victims of sexual violence and I know how addicted this society is to gun violence. How could I not have seen this coming?
I am very proud of the work that all of CFCS’s employees have been doing to help CFCS address racial equity issues in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. Our staff's commitment to social and racial justice and their willingness to act to address this issue are quite impressive.
This most recent act of sexualized racism should be a call to action for all of us. And whether the killer was conscious of his racial motivation is irrelevant to how we must respond.
The Atlanta shootings are a sad reminder that hate crimes are not only perpetrated against the African American community. All of us need to stand in solidarity with those who were victimized in Atlanta, and with the Asian American community around the country. We need to act to ensure racial justice for all. That is true whether the victims were targeted because they were Asian or because they were female or because they were Asian females.
As we continue our work to address social justice issues, we need to make sure we meet the needs of victims of hate who may not get as much attention, except in horrific times like this. Moreover, men need to own and take action to address the issue of misogynistic behavior, especially violence against women. I own that. There is nothing more important that I can do than to help young men understand that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. This needs to be part of our work as well.
Thank you again to CFCS’s staff for all of the good work they are doing to bring us and our children a more just and equitable society. I look forward to continuing that work with them.