RYH Statement in Response to Violence Against Asian Communities
To our RYH family,
We are still processing and grieving the lives lost this past Tuesday. To our Asian families, and particularly Asian women, we stand with you in calling it what it was: a hate crime grounded in misogyny and racism - a manifestation of white supremacy.
Throughout history, immigrant working class Asian women have been seen as passive, subservient, and are hypersexualized; furthering a cycle of violence. Our country’s inability to name its truths, in addition to the unchecked racist rhetoric by the past administration, has resulted in an increase in violence against Asians in America.
Asians are not a monolith but are viewed and treated as one in order to fit the model minority myth, which perpetuates whiteness as the standard. The Asian community is often used as a wedge to preserve the status quo in schools and other institutions and distract from addressing the root issues. The model minority myth renders Asians who don't conform to these standards invisible, while also being used to label other communities as deficient.
Instead of reinforcing carceral options, we must study historic movements like the Rainbow Coalition and the Chicano/Filipino organizing that started the United Farm Workers to strengthen the call to fight oppression with solidarity.
How to support locally:
Support the TEAACH Act, which adds Asian American history to our curriculum.
Attend a bystander intervention training. More can be found here.
Support initiatives to strengthen sex education in Chicago and Illinois.
- RYH Board & Staff