In Solidarity with the AAPI Community

Statement of support
for the Asian, Asian American, & Pacific Islander community

Las Musas stand in support of our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) siblings always, and especially during this difficult time. 

We condemn the ongoing anti-Asian racism that most recently fueled the March 16, 2021, murder of eight people in Atlanta, GA, most of whom were female and members of the Asian American community. 

We mourn the loss of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Hyeon Jeong Park, Paul Andre Michels, as well as countless other souls lost to anti-AAPI violence. 

Over the past year there have been over 3,795 incidents of anti-AAPI violence reported, including the recent attacks on Ngoc Pham and Xiao Zhen Xie in San Francisco.

We support and join our family in the AAPI community in the continued fight against erasure, fetishization, gaslighting, and white supremacy that remains rooted in the fabric of US history and media.  

We condemn any statements by law enforcement that refuse to call these murders what they are: hate crimes fueled by racism and misogyny—as well as any media outlets that repeat these claims unchallenged, thus enabling and perpetuating a culture of white supremacy that violently harms BIPOC communities.

We will examine our own biases and language as artists and creators.

We will amplify and celebrate AAPI voices, joys, and accomplishments.  And we will continue to work to dismantle white supremacy and its many manifestations, such as xenophobia, fetishization, and patriarchy.

-Las Musas

Below is a non-exhaustive list of resources for supporting AAPI communities and joining the fight against anti-AAPI violence and white supremacy.

Places to start:

• Sign up for: Bystander Intervention Training To Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment 
• Support your local AAPI-owned businesses and donate to community-led organizations.
• Challenge anti-AAPI language in your family and community 
• Learn more about the historical anti-AAPI sentiment in the US from microaggressions, objectification, and more via the articles and books below

Organizations & Where to Donate

• AAJA Guidance on Atlanta Shooting from Asian American Journalists Association
• Asian American Feminist Collective
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• Compassion in Oakland
• Donate to Ngoc Pham’s GoFundMe
• Donate to Xiao Zhen Xie’s GoFundMe
• Little Tokyo Service Center
• NAPAWF Donate (National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum)
• NY Magazine: 61 Ways to Donate in Support of Asian Communities
• Stop AAPI Hate
• The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
• Donate to the Memorial for Yong Yue and Peterson Family
• Donate to the GoFundMe for Vilma Kari

Support AAPI Creators:
Bookstores & Literature Organizations

• Asian Author Alliance
• Asian-owned Bookstores - We Need Diverse Books
• Libro FM List of AAPI Bookstores

​Book Lists

• BookRiot’s 18 Great 2021 YA Books by AAPI Authors to Watch For
• Harper Children’s Books for young readers by AAPI authors and illustrators about identity, diversity, and navigating anti-Asian racism
• Mental Floss: 25 Amazing Books by Asian American and Pacific Islander Authors You Need to Read

*members of Las Musas are also part of the AAPI community as well

Articles & Videos

• PBS: Asian Americans: The history of identity, contributions, and challenges experienced by Asian Americans
• CNN: Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise.
• Library Journal: Library Groups and Authors Respond to Anti-Asian Hate Crimes 
• NPR: 'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks
• Learning for Justice: What Is the Model Minority Myth?
• The Atlantic: Why this wave of anti-Asian racism feels different

 Books on the History of Anti-Asian Sentiment in the US
 

• Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People by Helen Zia
• Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
• Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images edited by M. Evelina Galang
• The Karma of Brown Folk by Vijay Prashad
• The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee
• We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang
• Yellow Peril! An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear edited by John Kuo Wei Tchen and Dylan Yeats

Support AAPI Mental Health Resources

• Asian Health Coalition
• Asian Mental Health Collective
• Asian Mental Health Project
• National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association

 See something missing from this list? Please contact us!