The killing of eight people in Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent, is directly connected to a history of white supremacy, anti-Asian violence, and discrimination in America, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the plague of Anti-Asian hate crimes, which have spiked 150 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we mourn with the Asian American Pacific Islander community, we are strengthening our resolve to invest in the empowerment and safety of Asian American, BIPOC, and immigrant communities. Vera supports approaches that do not draw a false equivalency between the expansion of policing and the need for safe communities.