Over 450 Civil Rights, Social Justice and Labor Organizations Call on Congress to Denounce Anti-Asian Racism around COVID-19

Washington, D.C.— In response to the Asian American community being targeted with hate speech, violence and vandalism in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), the Democracy Initiative, along with over 450 organizations, sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, these racist attacks and discrimination against Asian American communities; and, expressing support for H.Res. 908, introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY-6), and its Senate companion to be introduced by Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI). These resolutions condemn the anti-Asian racism and targeting resulting from COVID-19, and recognize that the health and safety of all Americans, no matter their background, must be of utmost priority.

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) issued the following statement:

“We commend Rep. Meng and Senators Harris, Duckworth, and Hirono for their leadership in bringing our country together during a time of fear and uncertainty. While we recognize and are grateful for these tangible steps, we call on their colleagues to do more by denouncing the growing hostile rhetoric against the Asian American community. We would like to thank the Democracy Initiative for their solidarity and leadership during this time as well. 

This joint letter is a call to action from the civil rights community to hold Congress accountable to unite and strengthen our democracy, and not let hate and bigotry divide us. We urge House and Senate Congressional members to lead by example and demonstrate that we will only come out of this better and stronger, together.”

The Democracy Initiative issued the following statement:

“We are in the middle of a global pandemic and a national health and economic crisis. This moment calls for unity and solidarity. We reject any and all attempts to scapegoat the Asian American community to distract from the incompetent handling of this crisis. Our coalition representing labor, civil rights, environmental, and social justice organizations is proud to link arms in solidarity with our Asian American brothers and sisters at NCAPA and beyond. We applaud Representative Meng and Senators Harris, Duckworth and Hirono for standing up for unity and against hate.”