Thank you to all who joined us for our Asian American Women's History: A Community Conversation event on March 29th.

We want to extend our thanks to Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific Affairs (CAPAA) for co-hosting with us.

We also want to thank CAPAA Executive Director Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, and our commissioners Grace Huang and Rituja Indapure for leading a discussion about their experiences as leaders, locating Asian American women in history, and why this history is critical to understanding our present.

We mourn the loss of Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Yong Ae Yue, Suncha Kim, Daoyou Feng, Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun and Paul Andre Michels, who died in the shootings in Atlanta on March 16th. 

During the event, our speakers helped contextualize the Atlanta tragedy as part of a long history of violence against Asian American women, who stand at the intersection of racism, colonialism, and misogyny. This violence stems from narratives, images, and media portrayals that dehumanize Asian women by sexualizing and objectifying them. 

Hye-Kyung Kang wrote for The Seattle Times, "Asian women’s lives are rendered cheap like the low-wage jobs that we often occupy: domestic workers, nail-salon employees and cleaners. For the most part, we don’t even exist, on screen, in textbooks or in the national consciousness.” 

As Kalayo Pestaño, co-executive director of API Chaya told The Seattle Times, the shootings in Georgia speak to the invisibility of Asian American experiences, particularly for AAPI women. 

In the words of Naomi Ishisaka:

"Asian Americans may be too-often invisible, but we are a crucial part of the American story. Our history and experiences should be valued and taught. Anything less contributes to the dehumanization and perpetual foreigner status that leads to the kind of tragedy we saw last week in Georgia."

Rewatch the Panel

For those who missed it, watch the recording of the event here:

To Learn More  

• Find resources for reporting incidents of AAPI hate and discrimination
• Read more of Rituja's story at the First Days Project
• Learn more about Grace's work at the Asian Pacific Institute for Gender-Based Violence
• Learn more about Toshiko's work at the Washington State Commission for Asian Pacific American Affairs
• Read more about the statistics on rising Asian hate crimes and learn about advocacy efforts at Stop Asian Hate
• Learn about how API Chaya empowers survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking to gain safety, connection, and wellness
• Contribute to the AAPI Community Fund, and read more about the organizations that it benefits
• Read stories and reflections from Asian American women in the wake of the Atlanta tragedy:
  • Vogue, What a Bad Day Means to Me by Ly Tran
  • Elle, For Asian Americans, Sharing Our Grief is an Act of Revolution by Bianca Mabute-Louie
  • Vanity Fair, A Letter to My Fellow Asian American Women Whose Hearts are Still Breaking by R.O. Kwon