Reinvestment Fund stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community against racism, hate and violence

A statement from Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

― Elie Wiesel

We continue to see the deadly results of white supremacy in America. Greater Atlanta was the site of a horrific set of racially-motivated murders – hate crimes aimed mainly at Asian American women and their co-workers. Eight are dead. A 21-year-old white male with a gun is in custody.

Our hearts go out to those affected by this violence and the Asian American community. The rise in anti-Asian violence is heartbreaking and unacceptable. Asians have faced a rise in hate crimes since the onset of the pandemic. Major U.S. cities have reported triple digit surges in hate crimes against Asians.

Discrimination and marginalization targeting Asians in the U.S. is not new. Its legacy can be traced to the 1850s with the first wave of Chinese immigration and the laws and policies that ensued. The pernicious effects of stereotypes from model minorities to the hypersexualization of Asian women continue to be pervasive.

This deep-rooted hate in our society has been whipped up for the last four years to new heights. Racial hate. Gender identity hate. Ability hate. Immigrant hate. So many divisions. So many are othered, harmed, killed.

The hate and the crime must be seen, called out, and resisted. Too often the frequency of harm and hate numbs us. Numbness settles into indifference, non-action, non-emotion. We see the hate. We see the harm. We will still love, live, have faith and refuse to become indifferent.

To our Asian colleagues, partners and community, we see you and are with you in the fight for freedom from oppression and hatred. And we reaffirm our commitment to dismantling the systems and policies that perpetuate racism and injustice.

We stand with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to create a better world. We stand united to #StopAsianHate.