Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area (CALOBA) is deeply saddened and concerned by the continued rise of hate crimes and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Anti-Asian xenophobic rhetoric surrounding the pandemic that falsely blames the AAPI community for the COVID-19 crisis has contributed to the spike in violence and crimes. From Oakland, California to Brooklyn, New York, innocent Asian Americans have been targeted and severely injured or killed in senseless acts of violence. On March 16, 2021, the murders in Atlanta took the lives of six women of Asian descent. CALOBA feels compelled to express its outrage and disgust at the increased cruel acts and rhetoric towards the AAPI community. We condemn hate incidents and violence in the strongest terms.
CALOBA calls for our elected leaders to take action to protect the AAPI community from further violence. We further urge everyone to stay vigilant against denigrating language as it elicits further hatred, and to speak up in the face of racism, misogyny and violence. CALOBA is firmly committed to working diligently with the entire AAPI community and to providing resources to prevent hate crimes and acts of violence against our community.
In solidarity, we stand against racism and violence.