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Statement of the Shooting in Atlanta: Stop Asian Hate

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Statement of the Shooting in Atlanta: Stop Asian Hate Statement on the Shooting in Atlanta: Stop Asian Hate As faculty and staff at James Madison University, we grieve for and express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the shootings in Atlanta on March 16, 2021. Among eight victims, six of them were women of Asian descent. We appreciate that the Biden administration and JMU leadership have expressed serious concern regarding the rising number of Asian-directed hate crimes. However, Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are still vulnerable to racist violence in public spaces, including schools, workplaces, streets, stores, and media. In the strongest terms, we condemn such crimes and hatred. We are disheartened to hear the public debate regarding whether the motive of the suspect was hatred against Asian women or primarily sexual and not racial. This fails to acknowledge that six of the victims were of Asian descent and the long history of imperialistic sexual objectification of Asian women. Racism and discrimination against Asian and AAPI are not new but have historically been trivialized. The hostility against Asian and AAPI began as early as the 1850s when a large number of Chinese immigrants arrived in the U.S. The California government imposed a foreign miners’ tax on Chinese immigrants to exclude them from the “Gold Rush”. Since then, Asian and AAPI communities have continually experienced discrimination, often expressed via xenophobia, intolerance, and violence. The Page Act of 1875 – directed explicitly at Asian women – and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 are painful reminders of systemic discrimination in this country. The expressions of xenophobia take on many different forms and are sometimes subtle, but with many Asian and AAPI cultures that value tolerance for the sake of communal harmony, their pain often remains invisible. Discrimination-based violence against Asian and AAPI people has risen significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The politicization of COVID-19 through mocking references to China or Wuhan has further ignited anti-Asian and anti-AAPI sentiment. Even as Asian and AAPI workers made up a large portion of the essential workers on the frontlines, with 1.4 million working during the pandemic according to the New American Economy Research Fund, the former president did not stop referring to COVID-19 as the “China virus” or “Kung flu.” This racial characterization of the virus has further provoked a wave of attacks against Asians and AAPIs. According to data from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, hate crimes against Asians in 16 of America’s largest cities increased 149% in 2020, even though the overall hate crimes in 15 of the major U.S. cities declined by 7%. Even more worrisome, recent acts of violence have targeted women and elderly people (Read the media coverages here, here, and here). As educators, scholars, and employees of JMU, we value the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion that bring productivity, dignity, and peace into our community. We are committed to supporting all students in becoming enlightened citizens who embrace diversity, condemn any form of hate crime, value racial and ethnic differences, and develop respect for each other. We need to provide an inclusive and supportive environment for our students that will make their time on campus productive and meaningful no matter their nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, or language. We cannot remain silent. We call upon our Asian and AAPI faculty and staff and our allies to speak up and stand together in solidarity. We also encourage Asian and AAPI students at JMU to speak up. In doing so, we want to assure our Asian and AAPI students that they have strong support from the faculty and staff at JMU. We also want to encourage our Asian and AAPI students to contact any of us at any time for support and to be an advocate for them. We will keep working to create more inclusive and open spaces and platforms for members of Asian, AAPI, and allies to stand together in solidarity. We demand that JMU administrators and local government officials express stronger condemnation of white supremacy and racism that drives violence targeting Asians and AAPIs and other racial groups and commit to creating tangible change and progress towards being an inclusive community where everyone feels safe, welcome, and has a sense of belonging in our community. In collaboration with the following faculty and staff (In Alphabetical Order; Updated on March 29th) Dr. Robert D. Aguirre, Dean of College of Arts and Letters, USA Dr. Melissa Alemán, Professor of Communication Studies, USA Ms. Alaina Ambler, Program Specialist of IIHHS, USA Bodeene Amyot, Digital and Audiovisual Archivist, Libraries, USA Dr. Robin Anderson, Professor of Graduate Psychology, USA Dr. Kelly Atwood, Director, Counseling and Psychological Services, Graduate Psychology, USA Dr. Suzanne Baker, Professor of Psychology, USA Dr. Tim Ball, Associate Professor of Communication Studies Dr. Stephanie Baller, Associate Professor of Department of Health Sciences Dr. Karen Barnard-Kubow, Assistant Professor of Biology, USA Dr. Nicole Barnes, Instructor of Communication Studies, USA JoLynne Bartley, Assistant Director of Children & Youth Services, IIHHS, USA Dr. Iccha Basnyat, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Nepal Linda C. Bayne, Libraries Administrative Assistant, Libraries Dr. Luis Betancourt, Professor of Accounting, Cuba Dr. Bruce Berger, Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama, Northport, Alabama, USA Dr. Aaron Bodle, Associate Professor of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education, USA Deward J. Brantmeier, Professor, Center for Faculty Innovation, USA Dr. Michael Brislen, Adjunct Professor of Philosophy / Religion, USA Dr. Lori Britt, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, USA Dr. Andreas Broscheid, Professor and Assistant Director of Center for Faculty Innovation, Germany Ms. Sarah Brown, Graduate Assistant of Biology Dr. Elizabeth Brown, Cluster Coordinator, Associate Professor of General Education & Mathematics, USA Dr. Justin Brown, Associate Professor of Biology BJ Bryson, Professor of Social Work, USA Dr. Peter K. Bsumek, Professor of Communication Studies, USA Dr. Michael Busing, Dean of College of Business, USA Jeff Campbell, Head of Public Services, Libraries, USA Dr. Luke Capizzo, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, USA Dr. Giulia Cardillo, Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Italy Dr. Katey Castellano, Professor of English, USA Dr. Taimi Castel, Professor of Justice Studies, USA Liz Chenevey, Psychology Librarian / Assistant Professor, Libraries Sarah Cheverton, Compliance Officer / Assistant Professor of University Programs and CIS/BN, USA Trevor Cockburn, Information Technology Specialist, Libraries, USA Tiffany Cole, Archivist of Libraries, USA Dr. Ailton Coleman, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, USA Dr. Heather Coltman, Senior Vice President at JMU, Zambia Dr. Steven Cresawn, Associate Professor of Biology, USA Dr. Marcus Davis, Associate Dean of College of Science and Mathematics, USA Dr. Gianluca De Fazio, Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Italy Dr. Rory DePaolis, Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, USA Mrs. Kathleen Derrick, Program Manager of IIHHS Kiersten Dodson, Night Supervisor, Music Library, USA Dr. Kristina Doubet, Professor of Middle, Secondary, and Mathematics Education, USA Dr. Elizabeth Doyle, Lecturer of Biology, USA Dr. Katie Dredger, Associate Professor of Middle, Secondary, and Mathematics Education, USA Annick Dupal, Lecturer of Communication Studies, Canada Ms. Cheri Duncan, Professor/Director, Scholarly Resources & Discovery, Libraries, USA Dan Easley, Rose Markerspace Manager, Libraries, USA Dr. Lennis Echterling, Professor of Graduate Psychology, USA Ms. Hong Embree, Instructor of Foreign Language Department, China Ms. Shannon Eppert, Graduate Student of Biology, USA Dr. Michele Estes, Professor, LTLE, USA Prof. Peter Eubanks, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, USA Dr. Matthew Ezzell, Associate Professor / Sociology Program Coordinator of Sociology & Anthropology, USA Dr. Allison Fagan, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies minor, USA Dr. Jody Fagan, Professor of Libraries, USA Dr. Eric Fife, Professor of Communication Studies, USA Mariagrazia Fiorello, Instructor of Foreign Language Department, Italy Dr. Frances Flannery, Professor of Religion, USA Dr. Brian Flota, Humanities Librarian / Associate Professor of Libraries, USA Dr. Julia D. Fox, Office Manager of Biology Administration Office, USA Rebecca French, Head of Metadata Analysis & Operations and Assistant Professor of Libraries Dianne Fulk, Administrative Assistant / Building Coordinator of Honors College, Canada Ms. Rachel Gagliardi, Program Coordinator of IIHHS, USA Ms. Malia Gardner, Graduate Student at JMU, Harrisonburg, VA., USA Dr. Diana Galarreta-Aima, Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Department, Peru Dr. H. Gelfand, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, USA Dr. Pam Gibson, Professor of Psychology/Cleveland 202, USA Kelly Giles, Associate Professor of Libraries, USA Dr. Tammy Gilligan, Professor of Graduate Psychology, USA Dr. Mollie Godfrey, Associate Professor of English, AAAD, USA Kuanyi Goodman, E-book Specialist, Libraries, Taiwan Dr. Jeffrey Goodman, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, USA Dr. Emily Gravett, Assistant Director and Assistant
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