Asian Americans grieve and organize
Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with killing eight people, most of them Asian women, at three Atlantaarea massage parlors.
Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #Stopasianhate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings that happened Tuesday evening.
“I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is because Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long . ... We’ve been raising the red flag,” said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlantabased Asian American Advocacy Fund, which does political and advocacy work across Georgia.
Many were also outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told police the attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed that he targeted the spas because of a “sex addiction.” Six of the seven slain women were identified as Asian.
Law enforcement needs “some training understanding what a hate crime is,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. “This man identified targets owned by Asians.”
The gunman “was very clearly going after a targeted group of people,” Huang said.
Being Asian American herself, Huang said the shootings felt personal. She is worried that not classifying the attack as a hate crime will “absolutely discourage others from coming forward and seeking help.”
She also cringed at the comments of a sheriff’s captain who said of the gunman, “It was a really bad day for him.”
The remark “appeared to be trying to explain and justify” the suspect’s actions. “Hopefully it was a misstatement,” Huang said.
Since then, it has come out that a Facebook account tied to Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus last year. The account was deleted Wednesday night. Asian American activists say it undermines public trust in the investigation. Baker did not respond to voicemails and an email requesting comment on the Facebook post. The sheriff ’s office also did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Her organization is partnering with other groups such as the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer resources in multiple languages, including mental health assistance, self-defense training and bystander training.
Meanwhile, from Phoenix to Philadelphia, Asian American organizations nationwide organized events aimed at showing unity.
Asian Americans United, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and several other partner groups held a vigil Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood.
“After the month and year we had, we knew our folks needed the time to come together safely just to grieve and heal and mourn and speak to what’s happening,” said Mohan Seshadri, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance co-executive director.