April 7, 2021
Statement : Stop AAPI Hate
During the past year, there has been a disturbing surge of hate crimes motivated by anti-Asian bias and hostility. According to StopAAPIHate, an initiative launched by several groups committed to addressing anti-Asian racism, approximately 3,800 hate incidents targeting Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders were reported from March 19, 2020 to Feb 28, 2021. Undoubtedly, this number represents only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occurred.
The mass shooting in Atlanta on March 16, 2021 was devastating and brought unimaginable sorrow and despair to the AAPI community.
As an organization who believes in radical hospitality and promotes inclusive diversity, Patchwork Indy stands in firm solidarity with Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander community members who have experienced acts of racism and xenophobia. Such acts of racism and xenophobia against Asians date back more than 100 years. Over the last several years, we have seen them become increasingly more prevalent once again. Such violence and acts of hate must be stopped. We - an engaged, interdependent, and diverse force - must stop it.
We urge our partners and community members to join with us in relentlessly educating ourselves about the past so that we will more fully know how to respond to the present. We urge our partners and community members to see the warning signs of extremism and to proactively take action in order to prevent future hate crimes. We at Patchwork Indy commit to doing so.
While history cannot be re-written, we will be the ones who collectively write the next chapters of what will become history. The world that we strive to create is a world where no one is told to "go back to your country” when this beautiful land of the United States is their rightful home. Let us create this world together.
Patchwork Indy