On March 17th, a 21-year old white man murdered six Asian-American women, one white woman, and one white man in a violent rampage in Atlanta, Georgia. As a global alliance of women’s funds, foundations, and gender justice funders and allies, we send our deepest condolences to the families whose loved ones were lost or injured.
We are devastated not only by the attacks in Atlanta, but also by the ongoing perpetration of anti-Asian hate and violence – particularly against women – since the start of the pandemic. We reject the remarks made by Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s office in Georgia and his characterization of the attacker as just “having a really bad day.” Misogyny, racism, and violence are deeply intertwined. We believe that how we call attention to these issues is crucial.
We are clear that imperialist policy, misogyny, racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. — both historical and present day — are the roots of what made this violence possible.
We unequivocally stand against all forms of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). There can be no gender justice without racial justice.
Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition addressing anti-Asian hate amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has found that 68% of the attacks on Asian Americans in the past year targeted AAPI women, who have historically faced sexualized stereotypes and sexual violence. According to Dr. Melissa May Borja, a researcher affiliated with Stop AAPI Hate, for the incidents in which we know the gender of the perpetrator, men were the perpetrator in 68% of the racist attacks. We call on men to act as allies and hold individuals accountable.
We stand with our colleagues at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy who call on philanthropy organizations to invest — and value — the diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Specifically, by:
- Strongly repudiating violence against Asian American communities. Send a clear message about your institution’s position on anti-Asian violence and all hate-based actions.
- Disrupting the “model minority” and “perpetual foreigner” narratives alongside other racial and gender tropes that serve to divide rather than unify this nation.
- Supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations as part of regular grant making and also in advancing a more holistic racial and gender equity strategy.
- Honor and support cross-racial efforts that strengthen rather than divide the United States along racial lines.
As women’s funds, foundations, and gender justice funders and allies, we vow to work with all who envision a world free from the social systems and environments that perpetuate hostility and hatred toward marginalized genders in communities of color.
Below are additional resources to support the AAPI community:
● Anti-Asian Violence Resources
● Asian Resources with a list of hate incidents updated daily
Signed:
- Elizabeth Barajas-Román, President & CEO, Women’s Funding Network
- Marya Meyer, Interim Executive Director, The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade
- Natanja Craig Oquendo, Executive Director, Boston Women’s Fund
- Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, President & CEO, Washington Area Women’s Foundation
- Roslyn Dawson Thompson, President & CEO, Texas Women’s Foundation
- Gloria Perez, President & CEO, Women’s Foundation of Minnesota
- Jennifer Steadman, Ph.D., Executive Director, Aurora Women and Girls Foundation, Inc.
- Donna Haghighat, CEO, Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts
- Michelle Legaspi Sanchez, Executive Director, The Fund for Women and Girls
- Tanna Clews, CEO, New Hampshire Women’s Foundation
- Stacey Keare, President, Girls Rights Project
- Teresa C. Younger, President & CEO, Ms. Foundation for Women
- Ana Oliveira, President & CEO, The New York Women’s Foundation
- Janelle Cavanagh, Vice President, Development, Global Fund for Women
- Kimberly Crichton, Executive Director, Maine Women’s Fund
- Felicia Davis, President & CEO, Chicago Foundation for Women
- Jess Tomlin, Co-CEO, The Equality Fund
- Tracy DeVries, Executive Director, Women’s Foundation of Mississippi
- Nicole Baran, Executive Director, The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation
- Sheri L. Scavone, P.T., EHSA, Executive Director, WNY Women’s Foundation
- Melanie R. Bridgeforth, MSW, President & CEO, The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham
- Meghan Cummings, Executive Director, Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
- Ellen M. Katz, President/CEO, Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
- Tania Turner, Executive Director, Fondo Semillas
- The Community Fund for Women & Girls at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
- Sharon LaRue, Executive Director, The Kentucky Foundation for Women
- Anna Beth Gorman, Executive Director, The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas
- Tine Ward, Founder & CEO, Rockflower Partners
- Women’s Fund of Omaha
- Keri Koehler, Executive Director, Women’s Foundation of Greater Saint Louis
- My Lo Cook, Executive Director, Shadhika
- Julie Castro Abrams, Founder & CEO, How Women Lead
- Kelley Griesmer, President & CEO, The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio
- Beth Bengtson, Founder & CEO, Working for Women
- Antoinette Klatzky, Eileen Fisher Foundation
- Lauren Y. Casteel, President & CEO, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado
- Kelly Nevins, CEO, Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
- Kate Kroeger, Executive Director, Urgent Action Fund
- Junemarie Justus, Policy Director, US Women’s Caucus at the UN
- Dr. Amalia Luxardo, CEO, Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona
- Leela Bilmes Goldstein, Executive Director, Women’s Fund of Hawai’i
- Lisa Attonito, Executive Director, Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee
- Sheri L. Scavone, CEO, WNY Women’s Foundation
- Ruby Bright, Executive Director, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis
- Paulette Senior, President & CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation
- Karen Sterk, CEO, Jeannette Rankin Foundation
- Denise Raquel Dunning, PhD, Founder & Executive Director, Rise Up
- Katharine Len Yee Mitchell, VP of Community Impact, Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona
- Jane Sloane, Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, The Asia Foundation
- Julie Keller, Executive Director, Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region
- Shante K. Avant, Vice President, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis
- Meg Smith, Director, Vermont Women’s Fund
- Brandy Loveland, Economic Mobility HUB Achievement Coach, WNY Women’s Foundation
- Dawn Oliver Wiand, President/CEO, Iowa Women’s Foundation
- Louise Davis, President, PRBB Foundation
- Joanne Murray, Executive Director, Women’s Fund SouthCoast, MA
- Adriana Loson-Ceballos, Director of Network Resources, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)
- Sarah Ghiorse, Executive Director, NewMexicoWomen.Org
- Latanya Mapp Frett, President & CEO, Global Fund for Women