In Solidarity Against Anti-Asian Hate

As Class Coordinating Board, we are incredibly saddened by the increasing Anti-Asian/American hate crimes, gendered violence, racial epithets, and xenophobia across the United States. We recognize that Anti-Asian/American sentiment has been present in American society even before the start of the pandemic, and we stand in solidarity with our fellow students who self-identify as Asian currently experiencing harm from recent events.

Furthermore, we greatly appreciate the feedback of the student body in response to our recent email about Anti-Asian/American hate. Moving forward, we are changing our language regarding “Anti-AAPI” to “Anti-Asian/ Asian American.” This is not intended to dismiss the Pacific Islander community and the racialized challenges they face, but rather the opposite. In feedback from students and advocacy organizations, it was explained that the racialization detailed is specific to the Asian experience, and that by collapsing the identities together, we effectively erase the Pacific Islander experience rather than highlighting it. By changing our language, we hope to honor their communities.

We also want to recognize that a previous email failed to address the unique experiences faced by femme-identifying Asian Americans, who, according to the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, are 2-3x more likely to report anti-Asian harassment and violence. Racism and sexism are intimately intertwined, linked with a history of the objectification of Asian women and tied with roots of US imperialism, overseas colonialism and America’s military involvement in Asia. Thus, we would like to highlight part of a message put forth by Red Canary Song, a grassroots collective of Asian and migrant sex workers:

“We see the effort to invisibilize these women’s gender, labor, class, and immigration status as a refusal to reckon with the legacy of United States imperialism, and as a desire to collapse the identities of migrant Asian women, sex workers, massage workers, and trafficking survivors. The women who were killed faced specific racialized gendered violence for being Asian women and massage workers.

We are asking that the community stand in solidarity with us and all immigrant and migrant massage workers and sex workers.
”
— RED CANARY SONG

As Class Coordinating Board, we strive our best to support our students by fostering a sense of community within the University. Cognizant that the pandemic has only served to exacerbate the anxiety within the Asian community while recognizing that Asians are not a monolith, we hope to bring awareness to some resources that may be pertinent for this situation.

Educational Resources

 

General Resources to Support the Asian Community:

 

Rhode Island Organizations

Resources for Asian Women, Sex Workers, and LGBTQ+:

 

Mental Health Resources

 

Brown Resources:

  • Asian American Political Alliance at Brown (Instagram) & (Facebook)

    • The Asian/American Political Alliance engages Brown’s Asian and Asian American students in dialogue, activism, and community building through the question of what liberation means and looks like for people of the Asian diaspora.

    • Asian/American Political Alliance at Brown is also committing 500 dollars to match student donations for those affected by the violence in Atlanta through the collective fund organized by AAJC Atlanta.  The link to the donation matching form can be found here. 

  • Brown Asian Sisters Empowered (Instagram) & (Facebook) 

    • Founded in 1980, BASE is an Asian/American feminist student organization that 1) provides a safe and challenging space to discuss issues relevant to our lives and to think critically about the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender, and 2) serves as a basis for activism extending throughout and beyond the campus community. Join their listserv here

  • Office of Institutional Equity & Diversity Resources on Incident Reporting

  • Report a Crime to DPS

  • Counseling and Psychological Services

  • Student Support Services 

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and we are happy to help you find additional resources to fit your needs. Please reach out to classboard@brown.edu if you have any suggestions or feedback, or have additional resources you would like us to add to this list.

Sending love and strength. 

In Solidarity, Class Coordinating Board

 

 CCB is committed to fostering an inclusive, anti-discriminatory environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, regardless of any identities they may hold. CCB prohibits harassment and retaliation by its membership and leadership alike. CCB encourages its members to voice concerns and commits to engaging in effective and equitable conflict management.