Statement Against Anti-Asian Racism
Dear Foundry Community,
Last summer we expressed our solidarity with the Black community by condemning the racist rhetoric, racist actions, senseless killings, and lack of justice experienced by the Black community. Today, with a heavy heart, we write to you again, this time about the racism and violence facing the Asian community.
Anti-Asian hate crimes have surged during the pandemic. A report by Stop AAPI Hate indicates 3,795 incidents between March 19, 2020 and February, 28th 2021. A report by California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism notes that the increase in Anti-Asian hate crimes had surged to 149% in 2020.
Now, the friends and families of eight people are in mourning after a horrifying shooting spree last week. As women of Asian descent made up the majority of the victims of the senseless attack in Atlanta, GA, the Asian community is presented with another reason to be fearful.
Racism is painful, exhausting, and dehumanizing. We, the Internet Law and Policy Foundry, condemn anti-Asian racism in all its forms. We also recognize the role that the Internet has played in fuelling anti-Asian misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech over the past several years, and acknowledge that this is a critical area of internet law and policy that must be addressed and discussed. Additionally, our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is a core component of our values. As a result, racism of any form and against any group has no place in our community.
Our mission is to offer early career internet law and policy professionals a platform for professional development, constructive debate, and network-building in internet and technology policy, and that mission applies to people of all communities and backgrounds. Racism is intolerable to our mission, and we condemn it in all its forms.
The Internet Law and Policy Foundry stands against anti-Asian racism, and we pledge to the Asian community that we will take the following actions:
- Foster greater understanding around how the internet has contributed to the spread of anti-Asian misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech through our event programming
- Ensure representation of Asian voices in our events, publications, and across our platform
- Reach out to Asian-community directly in recruitment of our next class of fellows to achieve our goals of a diverse organization
If there are other ways that you think that the Foundry can show support to the Asian community, please let us know.
Yours in solidarity,
ILPF Leadership