Hello,
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County promotes fairness, equity, and human rights. We condemn and denounce the ongoing violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, which recently resulted in the murder of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. We stand in solidarity with our Asian-American and Pacific Islander brothers and sisters who are suffering from trauma, as they are the targets of hate, xenophobia, and violence. We acknowledge that language has power and that racist rhetoric fuels the fire of hate and white supremacy.
The AAPI community is subjected to secondary trauma when our leaders deny these violent race based crimes and it further stigmatizes those with mental disorders when mental disorders are blamed for gun violence. Per the American Psychological Association, “blaming mental illness for gun violence in our country is simplistic and inaccurate and goes against the scientific evidence currently available.”
Historically, we know that Asian-Americans have been the targets of racist and exclusionary immigration laws, such as the Page Act of 1875 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Page Act of 1875 was the first immigration restriction law in the United States, which specifically banned Chinese women from immigrating due to our country’s racist beliefs that Chinese women were poligamous and sex workers, who endangered White men. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned immigration of Chinese men as well and Representative Horace F. Page introduced the bill to “end the danger of cheap Chinese labor and immoral Chinese women.”
It is our responsibility to stand up against hate and white supremacy, offer our support and solidarity, and to empower our community with useful resources to create lasting change.
Actions you can take today are included in the following resources:
UCLA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
https://equity.ucla.edu/know/resources-on-anti-asian-discrimination/
Stop AAPI Hate
https://stopaapihate.org
Sign on Petition from National Asian Pacific Women Women’s Forum
https://www.napawf.org/stopasianhate?emci=54a8827a-6887-eb11-85aa-00155d43c992&emdi=68c0ce3d-6b87-eb11-85aa-00155d43c992&ceid=15602
Sign on Petition from the ADL
https://www.adl.org/Anti-Asian-Hate?utm_medium=email&utm_source=whole&utm_campaign=antasamh2021&utm_content=e02&fbclid=IwAR2nS0g-M9OP7u8WYlkeaAOo01EkhAm832UMAJglNAuuQbmCv2CHRt2a000#form
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Los Angeles
https://www.advancingjustice-la.org
Committee of 100
https://www.committee100.org/…/committee-of-100…/
AAPI Women Lead
https://www.imreadymovement.org/
Hate is a Virus
https://hateisavirus.org/
American Psychological Association
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/08/gun-violence-mental-health
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Amgios805 editor’s note — Additional resource:
AAPI College Student Resources
https://collegeeducated.com/resources/aapi-student/
Join us and the entire SJFVC Board in standing in solidarity with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community in Ventura County and across the United States.
Sincerely,
| Michael Teasdale,
Chair, |
Rabiah Rahman
Vice Chair, |
Martita Martinez-Bravo, PsyD
Executive Director, |