Statement of Solidarity with the Asian American Community

Today, the DC State Board of Education published a statement of solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. I am proud of my colleagues on the DC State Board of Education for standing in solidarity beside me and our Asian American neighbors. I believe that this history should be studied in school. I believe that education deepens understanding between people. I believe that we can alleviate the fears that flame violence.

In light of the dramatic rise in anti-Asian violence within the past year, the D.C. State Board of Education unequivocally expresses its solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and condemns all manifestations of violence, racism, misogyny, and xenophobia against the AAPI community. These acts of violence are neither isolated, nor born solely from the racialization of COVID-19—they draw on a much broader and complex history of exclusionary policies that have treated Asian Americans as perpetually foreign, from the burning of Chinese immigrants’ homes in the Tacoma Riot of 1885, to the removal of Filipino immigrants and the separation of Filipino families with the Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Since March 2020, there have been almost 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents reported nationally with 140 of those reported locally in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Among the trends in data, women reported hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. This statistic is even more sobering after the mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, where three Asian-owned businesses were targeted, and six of the eight victims were working-class women of Asian descent. On March 16, 2021, Suncha Kim, 김선자, 69; Hyun Jung Grant, [김]현정, 51; Soon Chung Park, 박순정, 74; Yong Ae Yue, 유영애, 63; Xiaojie Tan, 谭小洁, 49; Daoyou Feng, 冯道友, 44; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; and Paul Andre Michels, 54 were senselessly murdered. The perpetrator’s claim to “eliminate temptation” echoes language of the 1875 Page Act, which labeled Asian women as “lewd and immoral” and effectively prevented them from immigrating to the United States. As we send our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims, we cannot ignore the structures and systems that have dehumanized and demonized Asian Americans nor the intersections of racism and misogyny that continue to place a compounded burden onto AAPI communities.

The State Board calls on and commits to:

A greater investment in restorative justice programs and social-emotional supports: We must transition away from an overreliance on the Metropolitan Police Department and other contracted security personnel in our schools. Our community deserves school-based, culturally sustaining mental health services, as increased policing as a solution to hate violence would only continue to disproportionately harm and traumatize our Black and Brown youth.

Revised social studies standards that are anti-racist and culturally inclusive: We must broaden our understanding of how our schools’ campus culture, curriculum, and disciplinary procedures reflect the systemic violence that manifests uniquely for different communities of color, for example, the model minority myth of Asian American achievement is harmful to all students.

Disrupting patterns that inflict harm upon our neighbors: Awareness alone will not stop harassment or violence. We must intervene when we witness racial injustice and we must also proactively engage in anti-racist work before another act of extreme harm occurs. We commit to structural change that protects, nurtures, and values every person, including AAPI students and AAPI educators.

To all AAPI students, families, educators, and school staff: we hear you. Your safety and well-being are important. You are important. We are committed to improving our educational standards and policies to ensure that our schools are welcoming, safe, and inclusive for all, and ultimately promote equity and excellence in education.

On March 22, I joined ANC Commissioners from across the city to sign onto a letter to Mayor Bowser, Councilmembers, and fellow residents of DC to condemn anti-AAPI violence and hate.

Dear Mayor Bowser, Councilmembers, and Fellow Residents of the District of Columbia,

Hate has no place here. Whether the vandalism of a historic Black church downtown, or the insurrection at the Capitol, or the chemical attack on Valley Brook Tea, an Asian American tea house barely one block off Dupont Circle, these unspeakable acts are an attack on every one of us.

The mass murders in Georgia this past week are only the latest in a seemingly endless series of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Day after day, in city after city, from one coast to the other, our fellow Americans have been subjected to racist insults, threats, and violence. The incidents have taken place in stores, on public streets, and in parks. Many of these were never reported. We condemn racial hatred in the strongest of terms, and demand perpetrators are brought to justice.

We reach out to our all Asian American and Pacific Islander friends and neighbors with this message: You are not alone. You are part of the beloved community. We stand together with you at this hour and always. The battle against racism is part of our DNA.

We urge everyone to make a special effort to patronize AAPI shops and restaurants all week. We are asking for your support for programs such as Takeout Tuesday, which helps all local merchants. This week, by supporting AAPI businesses, we can strengthen everyone’s sense of community and belonging.

Let us comfort our friends and neighbors as we share the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

We treasure and celebrate our diversity. We will not walk in fear, one of another. This is the District of Columbia, and hate has no place here.

Sincerely,

Sabel Harris, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B12
Mike Silverstein, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B06
Meg Roggensack, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B01
Kyle Mulhall, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B09
Alexandra Bailey, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F08
Alison Horn, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6B09
James A. Turner, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B09
Pavan Khoobchandani, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4A08
Lisa R. Gore, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3/4G01
Jonah Goodman, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4C10
William Zeh Herbig, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B05
Robert Vinson Brannum, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 5E08
Keya Chatterjee, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6A01
Brian Romanowski, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F01
Robb Dooling, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6A06
Mo Pasternak, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B04
Emily Singer Lucio, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 5A03
Zachary Israel, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4D04
Jeri Epstein, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2A06
Laura Gentile, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6A05
Victoria Sanchez, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B05
K. Denise Rucker Krepp, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6B10 Kishan Putta, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2E01
Tom Quinn, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3E04
Dorothy Douglas, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7D03
Jamila White, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 8A05
Trupti Patel, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2A03
Yannik Omictin, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2A01
Patrick Parlej, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6E05
Connie K. N. Chang, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3/4G05
Gerald E. Sroufe, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6B02
Matthew Holden, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2B08
Milton Hardy, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7D04
John Fanning, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F04
Tiffani Johnson, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4B06
Prita Piekara, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 5B03
Erin Palmer, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4B02
Evan Yeats, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4B01
Matthew Cohen, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3E01
Ursula Higgins, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 5B02
Cydne Smith Nash, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7B04 Ronald Collins, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6D03
Janell Pagats, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3C03
Anna Landre, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2E04
Christian Damiana, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3D07
Larry Handerhan, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B01
Rehana Mohammed, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F07
Delia Houseal, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7E06
Michael Zeldin, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3G04
Monika Nemeth, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 3F06
Anthony Lorenzo Green, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7C04
Japer Bowles, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1C07
Gigi Nelson, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2C03
Eric Behna, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B08
John Guggenmos, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F02
Andy Litsky, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6D04
Meghan Faulkner, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1C04 Michelle Yan, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F03
Max Ewart, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B07
Aryan Rodriguez Bocquet, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 4D03
Deborah Thomas, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 1B04 Sherene Joseph, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 2F05
Allister Chang, DC State Board of Education Member, Ward 2