ASIAN American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) across the country are reeling after eight people, including six Asian women, were shot dead at three Atlanta-area massage parlors.
The March 16 victims of the Cherokee County shooting were identified as Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Tan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, of Acworth, was injured in the attack.
Two of the Atlanta victims were identified as Julie Park and Hyun-jeong Park Grant, Korea Times Atlanta said, while the identities of two other women have not been released.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the AAPI community has sounded the alarm on the escalating hate, which has ranged from verbal harassment to physical attacks. The events on Tuesday night, March 16 confirmed their worst fears, activists and leaders say.
“We are heartbroken by these murders, which come at a time when Asian American communities are already grappling with the traumatic violence against Asian Americans nationwide, fueled by the United States’ long history of white supremacy, systemic racism, and gender-based violence,” Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and Georgia NAACP said in a collective statement.
The statement, signed by over a hundred community organizations, called for long-term solutions “the root causes of violence and hate in our communities,” while rejecting “increased police presence or carceral solutions as the answers.”
“Working-class communities of color are disproportionately suffering from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s relentless scapegoating of Asians for the pandemic has only exacerbated the impact on Asian business owners and frontline workers and inflamed existing racism. The hypersexualization of Asian American women and the broad normalization of violence against women of color, immigrant women, and poor women make Asian American women particularly vulnerable. Hate incidents against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted,” the groups added.
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, is accused of shooting and killing eight individuals at three different businesses: Young’s Asian Massage Parlor, Aromatherapy Spa and Gold Spa.
Outside of the greater Atlanta area, AAPI groups and leaders, including Filipino Americans, joined in grieving and condemning the attacks on the community.
“I am part Filipino myself, so this is personal, often we don’t talk about it and have been called the ‘model minorities’ for our willingness to maybe be quiet, well this is not the time to be quiet as these are lives at stake and businesses that are being harmed,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told CBS8.
Carmelyn Malalis, the commissioner of the New York Commission on Human Rights, said that despite the reported motivations of the incident, the AAPI communities have felt this act “deeply and personally.”
“Recognizing that API women have been disproportionately targeted in these acts of hate, we need to acknowledge the work we must all do to address misogyny as we combat anti-Asian violence and all forms of racism,” she said.
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) national chair Brendan Flores said, “We are tired of seeing these attacks. We need to acknowledge the intersectionality that is happening here: the women in our community are perceived as both Asian and women, and the relationship between racism and sexism here contributes to the disparity. The same goes for our elderly. We need action from the government and support from other communities to protect our people from these attacks.”
Community reactions
The reaction from community leaders in the Northeast ranged from anger to grief and sadness, demanding and end to the anti-Asian bigotry and calling for justice and accountability.
“Like everyone else, I am outraged. We should demand the authorities to bring to court all those found guilty of the crime. Regardless if it’s verbal or physical,” said Bing Branigin of Washington, D.C. “This has to stop before it escalates to something much bigger. Now is the time to show to authorities that this is not, I am not, okay, and definitely, we are not okay.”
“The motivation of why this individual killed six Asian women should not be the focus,” explained Marni Halasa, a City Council candidate for District 3 in New York City, who is both of Filipino and Jordanian descent. “The fact of the matter is that hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans are on the rise, especially with Trump’s racist rhetoric, and that we as a society need to do something more than simply legislate after the fact.”
Halasa also posed a few questions: what are the real roots of racism in our society and how can we stop it, how can we address the lack of education, jobs, social mobility, as well as an often destructive insular tribalism that infects all classes.
“And a couple [of] seminars in diversity training isn’t the answer, it has to be a standard set by all our institutions — especially those that get city and state funding. Perhaps New York City needs a fully-funded Anti-Asian Hate Crime Unit with staff in each council district dedicated to eradicating such hate. We need more resources put towards this important issue,” she added.
Ledy Almadin of Summit, New Jersey is questioning why authorities are saying that the murders are not racially motivated, choosing to focus on the accused shooter’s alleged sex addiction problem.
“My thoughts are whatever the case maybe, we all have to be cautious on finding and defining the facts. I hope justice is served for all the victims of racial violence and not just go as far as just loud voices in social media or just having sound bites from the politicians,” she said.
Atty. Lara Gregory of New York feels that it is high time that people acknowledge what is happening and do something beyond.
“There is a visible and emerging pattern of violence against Asian Americans; we all need to open our eyes, acknowledge it and take action,” she said. “We have been at a loss for words as our hearts are grieved at the senseless loss of lives in Atlanta. The families and friends of the Asian Americans who were murdered are not only grieving but are wondering if their loved one was targeted on account of race.”
“We cannot allow this to continue. Even as we adhere to due process of law, let us not give credence to claims that it is all random,” she added.
For those who want to support the victims, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta urged individuals to sign its community-centered response at bit.ly/aaajcommunitystatement; donate to its fundraiser which will go directly to victims, their families and crisis interventions (bit.ly/DonateToGeorgiaAAPICommunity); and share resources, such as mental health services, immigration legal services, interpretation, and case management (http://bit.ly/georgiaAAPIcommunitycare).
