NFHA Stands in Solidarity with the Asian American Community Following Devastating Atlanta Shootings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2021
Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org
NFHA Stands in Solidarity with the Asian American Community Following Devastating Atlanta Shootings
Washington, D.C. — Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement following the horrific killing of eight people at three Atlanta-area spas:
“We at NFHA offer our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones during Tuesday’s hate-fueled shooting spree in Atlanta. Of the eight people killed, six were Asian American women, underscoring a disturbing trend over the past year of increased harassment and violence perpetrated against people of Asian descent. In 2020, driven in part by COVID-19 scapegoating by former President Trump and others, hate incidents targeting Asian Americans rose by almost 150 percent, with Asian American women reporting these incidents more than twice as often as men.
“Although the toxic rhetoric around COVID-19 has fueled the recent spike in anti-Asian discrimination and violence, this form of racism has existed throughout the history of our country. Our leaders must not fan these flames, and we urge local, state, and federal lawmakers to adopt and enforce policies prohibiting officials from blaming any particular ethnic group for COVID-19. Our government should also support funding for programs that tackle housing, workplace, and other forms of discrimination against Asian Americans, women, and other protected classes.
“Further, each of us can take concrete steps to show our solidarity with the Asian American community and help combat various forms of racism against this group. An act of hate violence that occurs against Asian Americans or other groups in a residential setting may well be a violation of the Fair Housing Act; if you have witnessed or experienced such an act, visit https://nationalfairhousing.org/report-hate/ to report it. We also encourage people to support groups such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Hollaback!, which have joined forces to offer important bystander intervention training sessions to help allies fight back against anti-Asian American xenophobic harassment to which they are witnesses. People should also support National CAPACD, an organization that helps organize and advocate for AAPI communities and neighborhoods.
“Finally, we must listen to and elevate Asian American voices, especially at this moment, and we must be unequivocal in calling incidents like Tuesday’s exactly what they are — blatant acts of hate. If we don’t take these steps now, more lives will be lost in future irrational acts of xenophobia, and millions will continue to feel unsafe in their own homes (where one-third of hate incidents occur), workplaces, and communities.”
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Founded in 1988, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement.