Disability Rights California (DRC) along with its Asian Pacific Islander Resource and Empowerment (ASPIRE) staff members are heartbroken by the acts of violence on March 16, 2021. Eight people were killed at three different businesses in Georgia, including six Asian women. We hold the victims and their families in our hearts and grieve with them at this time.

Asian and Pacific Islander staff, staff with disabilities and members of the DRC family stand as allies against all acts of violence, including against the backdrop of escalating violence against the elderly in our community.

We stand firm in solidarity against gender-based violence, systemic racism and white supremacy. We stand with our allies to stop the justification and rationalization of racism and misogyny. We call for care that prioritizes the immediate needs of this community, including in-language support to address mental health. We must ensure that low-wage workers can arrive at work knowing that they are safe. We must also invest in long-term solutions that target the root causes of all violence and hate, including those against the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

In this time of continual trauma, we emphasis the importance and need to rest, reflect and mourn.

#StopAsianHate, #StopAAPIHate

View DRC’s prior statement here.

DRC’s Employee-led Resource Groups are part of DRC's commitment to being a champion and model for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. ERGs serve as a resource to each other and the organization, by providing insight and guidance on a wide array of issues.

DRC’s Employee Resource Groups Show Solidarity During This Time.

On behalf of Disability Alliance & Mental Health

The Disability Alliance ERG stands in grief and solidarity with ASPIRE ERG and Asian American communities nationwide in this time of unspeakably tragic violence against their community. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “[We are] caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be..." The world the Disability Alliance ERG wants to see is not possible without also creating a world that the ASPIRE ERG wants to see. We grieve with you, fight with you, and work with you to build just communities where we are all safe, where all humans are treated with dignity and respect, and where all of our loved ones thrive.

On behalf of 10+ Legends

10+ Legends stands in solidarity with the AAPI Community during this time, after the devastating acts of violence against Asian American Communities.  On March 16, eight people were killed at three different spas in North Georgia, including six Asian women.  Hate incidents against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted.  We stand to seek system change against systemic racism and gender-based violence.  Violence against Asian American communities is part of a larger system of violence and racism against all communities of color, including Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.

In this time of crisis, let’s come together and build just communities, where we are all safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and where all our loved ones thrive.

On behalf of Estrella Latinx

As members of the Estrella Latinx Employee Resource Group, we stand in solidarity with members of the AAPI community. Disrespect, Intolerance, and Violence is never acceptable. We take the initiative to condemn hate and to create lasting social change. Together, we can stop it.

On behalf of Support Staff Resource Team

The Support Staff Resource Team stands in solidarity with our community members of ASPIRE in fighting against violence against the AAPI community.  We understand that words are never enough but commit to calling out and addressing anti-Asian racism and hate within our own communities and spaces.  If there are additional ways that we can support, we ask to keep us informed and educated. We must all continue to care for one another and check in with our colleagues, as we seek healing and strength.

We pledge to be allies that will listen and take action. Together we are stronger. When one of us is threatened, we are ALL threatened.

In Solidarity,
Support Staff Resource Team

On behalf of Umoja

To our Friends & Colleagues,

Umoja stands in solidarity with our colleagues in the Asian American Pacific Islander Resource and Empowerment (ASPIRE) ERG against violence and hate crimes.

We send our thoughts and prayers to families who have lost loved ones or whose loved ones have been injured. We wrap our arms around you with love, unity, peace and hope!

In solidarity,
UMOJA ERG

On behalf of LGBTQIA+

We, the LGBTQIA+ ERG extend our deepest condolences, and stand in support of the ASPIRE ERG and all AAPI communities.

We are horrified, heartbroken and angered by the increasing racism and violence against AAPI communities, most recently the ruthless murders that occurred in Atlanta. We are also very troubled by some of the news coverage which is focusing on the purported motives of the perpetrator and minimizing the racism and xenophobia behind the crimes. Victim-blaming is never acceptable be it based on profession, ethnicity, or any other characteristic.

We are committed to help shine light on these injustices and work together for positive change. None of us are safe until all of us are safe. None of us can rest till all of us can lives free of violence, discrimination, and fear.

In solidary and love,
LGBTQIA+ ERG

On behalf of Allies for All

Hello to All our Friends & Colleagues,

Allies would like to stand in Solidarity along with our friends within the API community and ASPIRE ERG. We together grieve and respond to this tragedy against the actions of the long running history of white supremacy, the systemic racism and the gender-based violence that is and has occurred.

We are here with you as ONE. We stand NEXT To YOU, supporting the API community and all our friends of other communities whether you are Black, Brown, Indigenous, or LGBTQIA+ community.

WE ARE HERE, WE ARE ONE, WE ARE PROUD TO BE YOUR ALLIES!

In solidarity,
Allies for ALL ERG