The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at George Mason University stands in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in denouncing the acts of racism that have directly affected their community--most recently in the spate of racially motivated attacks in Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, and other areas, including in our own Washington, DC metro area.
Anti-Asian violence has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is fueled by misguided assumptions that Asians pose a threat to this country and are scapegoats for the pandemic.
We acknowledge that there have been nearly 3,800 reported incidents since last year in all 50 states, an increase of 150 percent overall. These include verbal harassment, physical assault, Civil rights violations and online harassment. This moment is not isolated or separate from the ongoing fight for racial justice. We denounce white supremacy in its many forms, and will work to end it, alongside anti-Blackness, xenophobia, misogyny, police violence, and domestic terrorism in our CVPA community.
We will continue to build cross-racial and intersectional solidarity, continue to amplify and learn about the work happening in AAPI and BIPOC spaces, and hold each other accountable.
What can I do?
Anti-Asian racism, like racism in any form, has no place in the College. As part of the College community, actions you can take in support of the AAPI community include:
- Report hate crimes against Asian Americans
- COVID-19 Resources to Stand Against Racism
- Database of APIDA Therapists
- The Crisisline
- Call: 1-800-273-TALK
- Asian Languages: 1-877-990-8585
- GMU Counseling and Psychological Services
- Guided meditation on self-compassion
- Report Bias incidents: https://ccee.gmu.edu/bias-incident-response-tool/.
- Follow and amplify Asian American racial justice movements on social media