Statement on Anti-Asian Violence

The recent racist attacks on members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are deplorable. The murder of eight people, six of them Asian women, in Georgia on Tuesday night dramatized the increasing violence and agression against our fellow AAPI residents. AFT-Maryland denounces this deplorable violence and demands that we as a country commit to eradicating racist violence once and for all.

Prior incidents against members of the AAPI community were devastating, but Tuesday's violence felt far beyond the pale. It's not lost on us that this uptick in racist violence against the AAPI community comes after a member of that community has ascended to the second highest office in our country. It reminds us of one of America's darkest times: Reconstruction.

As a state federation of public employees, we have a deep understanding of the great diversity that makes up our state and nation. Many of us are educators, corrections officers, and health care providers; this means our professional lives are dedicated to teaching, rehabilitating, and saving our fellow person. We cannot in good faith go to work serving others and ignore the violence against our AAPI family. Anti-AAPI racist violence must stop.

2021-03-18

Click here for the PDF version.