Stop Hate Against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders
Image: Amber Chia
March 17, 2021
Message from our CEO, Andy Naja-Riese
At the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), we condemn hate in all forms, including hate crimes against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. I am outraged by the recent murders in Atlanta, including six Asian women. Today and always, we stand in solidarity with our AAPI staff, board members, volunteers, producers, eaters, and communities. Anti-Asian discrimination is pervasive in many of our local Bay Area communities and on the rise in California. The Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center received 1,691 reports of anti-Asian discrimination in California between March 2020 and February 2021.
We must collectively take action. Please join me in one or more of the following ways:
Intervene as bystanders to acts of harassment and xenophobia against AAPI community members. Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Hollaback! offer a free Bystander Intervention Training at the https://www.ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention/
Volunteer with local organizations by escorting to help Asian-American older adults safely walk through their own neighborhoods and business districts. Compassion at Oakland is currently recruiting volunteers: https://compassioninoakland.org
Shop at AAPI-owned businesses, including the farmers, food makers, and artisans at our farmers markets, in addition to dining at AAPI-owned restaurants that have been subject to prejudice related to the Coronavirus.
Donate to AAPI-led organizations, including Stop AAPI Hate (https://stopaapihate.org) and Oakland’s Asian Health Services (https://asianhealthservices.org/donate/).
Talk to your friends, colleagues, neighbors—and each other—who are AAPI. During times of trauma, checking in on one another with genuine empathy and compassion is what unites us as humans.
In accordance with AIM’s Path to Racial Equity, we must continue to ensure that our organization, our markets, and our programs are inclusive, welcoming, and safe to AAPI individuals.
For those who are suffering, we hope you have the time to process the recent trauma. We are listening. Please let us know what support you need.