As we mourn the precious lives lost in last week’s violent attacks in Georgia, we offer care and love to our Asian American and Pacific Islander friends, congregants, and community members. We bear witness to the painful impacts of anti-Asian racism, which has escalated in the last year, but also has a long, repugnant history in this country. We also acknowledge the damage that Asian stereotypes have long played, including the way Asians have been viewed as a silent and model minority, experiencing no problems in American society. This simple formulation undercuts the diversity of the Asian American experience, and overlooks the critical issues facing Asian Americans, which have become increasingly glaring during the current pandemic. While we hold in love those for whom these manifestations of racism are a lived reality, we invite all who have not lived with these experiences, who may be feeling shock or sadness, to join us in a commitment to learning this history more fully as well as engaging whole heartedly in the work of dismantling white supremacy from every angle, including contending with how it directly and dangerously intersects with misogyny.  

In their recent statement, which can be read here, DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries) provided some resources listed below, and we will highlight other educational opportunities as they become available:

Understand how white supremacy culture operates and learn how to begin to dismantle it. 

• • Learn more about the long and diverse history of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. 
  • Know how the model minority myth works to support anti-Black racism and find ways to dismantle it. 
  • Learn about the intersections of Asian American and Black history and unity.
  • Push for comprehensive ethnic studies in all grades. Kids need this education, too. 

In love and solidarity,

WSUU 2020-21 Board

Vanessa Shaughnessy, marissa delgado ohoyo, Shelley Webb, Liz Berggren, Tony Ricardi, Thomas Terence, and Jade Wilde