FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 1, 2021
CONTACT: Heather Masterton, Chief Strategic Engagement Officer, YWCA Glendale
E-MAIL: heathermasterton@glendaleywca.
YWCA Glendale & YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley Denounce Racism Against AAPI Community
We take a Stand Against Racism every day by raising awareness about the impact of institutional and structural racism and by building community among those who work for racial justice.
GLENDALE & PASADENA, CA – Between March and December 2020, Stop AAPI Hate documented 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate. The majority of incidents – 43% took place in California. The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council reports 250 hate incidents and hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been reported in Los Angeles County since the beginning of the pandemic, but they believe there are many more that have gone unreported.
YWCA Glendale and YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley denounce these acts of violence, commit to continuing to raise awareness to dispel the racist myths and stereotypes that have been used to further xenophobia and violence directed toward our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and support the policy initiatives funding AAPI organizations to lead this work. Last April, both YWCAs implemented a Stand Against Racism social media campaign that directly addressed acts of racism tied to misinformation related to COVID-19. “The work isn’t completed in one week or with one campaign. We continue to get up and do this work every day until racism is rooted out of our communities and institutions.” Angeline Chen, Board President, YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley.
“We applaud Governor Gavin Newsom for signing the AB85 pandemic budget bill, which includes $1.4 million for researchers at the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California Los Angeles and the Stop AAPI Hate website. We support the increased investments in funding Asian-led community initiatives – a departure from the majority of responses in other parts of the nation that focus on ramping up policing,” Tara Peterson, CEO, YWCA Glendale. YWCA Glendale and YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley will be convening their respective communities in the coming weeks to discuss the policy and community organizing efforts taking place to stop racist acts of violence against AAPI communities.
More on YWCA Glendale: YWCA Glendale’s mission is to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Their programs include a 24/7 Crisis Hotline, a 16-bed Domestic Violence Emergency Shelter, a Domestic Violence Community Services Center that provides case management, legal services, adult and child counseling, trauma informed childcare, and housing navigation support, a Violence Prevention Education and Outreach Program, a Girls Empowerment Program that offers after school programming, summer camp and STEAM education workshops and mentorship, and the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale. For more information, please visit: www.ywcagp.org.