Newton Community Vigil for Victims of Atlanta Shooting

STOP ASIAN HATE – Rally and Assembly Against Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Racism organized by The Chinese American Association of Newton.

SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
IN FRONT OF NEWTON CITY HALL
1000 COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, NEWTON, MA 02459

The Chinese American Association of Newton (CAAN) will hold a vigil for the victims of the horrific killings this past Tuesday in Atlanta, GA.  Six out of the eight victims are innocent Asian women.  In 2020 alone, hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent rose by nearly 150 percent according to a study conducted by California State University.

Our Asian communities are devastated, heartbroken, angry and feel helpless at this very difficult time. It should not be forgotten that though the pandemic has exacerbated anti-Asian racism, hate and violence towards the Asian community have existed and been deeply entrenched in our society.  The Atlanta killings only serve to highlight the fact that the recent attacks target those most marginalized: women, immigrants, the impoverished, and the elderly.

Please join us to pray for our victims, their family and loved ones. Let’s hope together and support each other. Together, we can be united, stand up and fight the hatred, senseless killing and racism for ALL people.

We deeply appreciate our neighbors, friends, Mayor and Mayor’s office and the City of Newton for their heartfelt support!

We will keep up our efforts, we will stand united, and we will overcome!

The Newton South Community aims to be an inclusive welcoming community to all members of our school community.  Learn more about anti-racism resources at our PTSO website. We encourage you to read, watch and act through these resources to help us stop systemic racism.

In light of yet another recent tragedy in Atlanta shooting, we encourage every member of our community to raise awareness of implicit biases, support anti-racism, take action to stop systemic racism and show support for our Asian American community.

• Parents/Guardians AAPI Forum on Friday, March 19 @7PM.  Zoom Link. Passcode: AAPI. Join us to discuss recent events;
• March 19, 2021 statement from NSHS FORJ (Families Organized for Racial Justice);
• Learn more from our Asian Student Organization;
• Asian American Awareness Day on March 31, 2021.  Your donations in support of the Newton South PTSO have allowed our Grants Committee to support programs for our students and faculty like this one with guest speakers including local Asian leaders, artists and alumni sharing their experience to help build our students and faculty’s cultural and racial competencies. Encourage your child to sign up to attend. Details will be sent directly to students.
• Register for the Families Organized for Racial Justice (FORJ) NSHS Asian American Pacific Islander Solidarity Night on April 14.  This will be a night to learn specifically how to support our AAPI students as well as to offer affinity spaces for YOU – AAPI students and allies who are parents, guardians, faculty and community members. Contact AmyBehrens at amy@amybehrens.com;
• Review this guide for Asian American Parents/Guardians and visit the William James College website for more resources & translations.

We encourage our community to heal, read, watch and act in support of our community and especially our Asian American Community during this time.

Dear Newton South Community, 

We know that many of you are pained as you see the rise of racial violence in our country, most recently this week with the killings of eight people in the Atlanta area, six of whom were Asian women. We are deeply hurt and saddened by yet another example of violence that targets our communities of color.  And, our hearts and minds are filled with a desire to show support and offer guidance to our Newton community at large about how to support our families of color and especially our AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) students and families during this year when the Covid-19 pandemic and political rhetoric have caused the unprecedented rise in racial hate crimes and aggressions. 

We, the members of FORJ NSHS — Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ) of Newton South High School —  have been meeting this year to plan events that invite learning, conversation and mutual support for people of color and allies.  Meetings this year have included a book group that examined Stamped, and a panel discussion that highlighted the voices of students and staff of color from Newton South.  

Our upcoming FORJ NSHS Asian American Pacific Islander Solidarity Night on Wednesday, April 14th @ 7pm will be a night to learn specifically how to support our AAPI students as well as to offer affinity spaces for YOU – AAPI students and allies who are parents, guardians, faculty and community members. We realize this is one of the first nights of Ramadan, and hope that our Muslim friends can join us for at least part of the evening.  Please register for the event HERE.

We plan to offer an opportunity to learn about:

• the historical and systemic roots of violence and discrimination against AAPI communities
• how AAPI communities are impacted in terms of mental health and how to help and get help
• how best to support our young people, family members and friends during this difficult time

Through breakout rooms, we will offer affinity spaces by age and racial identities in addition to random groups to allow people to learn from each other and offer each other support. 

We stand united against all acts of anti-AAPI violence, including hurtful language, stereotypes, and other aggressions. We pledge to continue to offer our support of racial justice and our continued work towards becoming an anti-racist district. 

We encourage you to educate yourselves and reach out to each other to appreciate the rich diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander cultures within our school, community, country and world. 

Please note these upcoming events and attend the Asian Monologue Project on April 10th and our South FORJ event on April 14th. We hope that you will join us as we gather as a community to advance the cause of racial justice in the broader Newton South community.

• Friday, March 19 @7PM. Parents/Guardians Forum – Zoom Link. Passcode: AAPI. Join us to discuss recent events.
• March 31st – Asian American Awareness Day at NSHS (a full day series of webinars with guest speakers for students and faculty)
• April 9th – Asian Night sponsored by the Newton South ASO
• April 10th – Asian Monologue Project.  Get tickets at:  https://www.newtontheatrecompany.com/
• April 13th – Ramadan begins
• April 14th @ 7PM – NSHS FORJ AAPI Solidarity Night (with Michele Leong and Charlene Beh from NNHS) RSVP HERE

We encourage you to read, watch and act through these resources.

We look forward to standing together to create a welcoming, inclusive community that works for racial justice together!

FORJ NSHS – Families Organizing for Racial Justice at Newton South High School

P.S. Questions? Contact amy@amybehrens.com

P.P.S. For your convenience, here are the resources from the link above by title…

READ:

• March 2021 –  Stop AAPI Hate National Report.
• What This Wave of Anti-Asian Violence Reveals about America  – From the NYTimes
• Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Corona Virus – From Learning for Justice
• How to Respond When There’s a Crisis  – From Learning for Justice
• For Asian Americans, Sharing Our Grief Is an Act of Revolution
• Ways to Support Asian American Students During the Pandemic – google doc from NSHS
• Parents Magazine guide for Asian American Parents
• Self-Care Tips For Asian Americans Dealing With Racism Amid Coronavirus -Huffpost article with self-care tips for Asian American
• Guide for Asian/Asian American Parents
• As Schools Reopen Asian American Students are Missing from Classrooms

WATCH:

Talking to Teens about Anti-Asian Discrimination in the Era of COVID-19 – Excellent Webinar on Anti-Asian Violence from MGH Student Wellness

Excellent Guide for Asian-American Parents which includes videos in English, Korean, Chinese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Japanese from William James College

Act to Change is a national organization focusing on addressing bullying and racism faced by the AAPI community.  Some recent webinars:

• • Talking to your parents about anti-Blackness
  • Raising AAPI kids to combat anti-Blackness
  • Stop AAPI Hate: Towards Prevention and Solidarity

TAKE ACTION:

• Ways to contact Congress
• Massachusetts Town Hall on Anti-Asian Racism – Thurs, Mar 25 from 6:00-7:30 pm
• Connect with Newton South’s AAPI Community and Asian Student Organization: ASO Resources and Announcements
• 13 Mental Health & Wellness Resources For Asian-American Communities -This website offers different mental health resources for AAPI youth.
• Guide for Asian-American Parents/Guardians. Visit website for more resources at Williams James College