As the Asian American community deals with Tuesday’s mass shootings in Atlanta that left eight dead, including six Asian women, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational and Fund, Inc. (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill issued the following statement:
“LDF stands in solidarity with the Asian American community during this painful time. This week’s mass shooting in Atlanta was an unspeakable crime. This heinous act of violence is the latest in a wave of escalating and violent attacks that have spiked over the last year, since former President Trump’s ugly association of the COVID-19 pandemic with China. Asian American and other civil rights advocates warned early on that this language would lead to the targeting of Asian Americans for discrimination and harassment.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on Tuesday, and to our allies in the Asian American community, who have become the targets of increased attacks and hate crimes over the last year. It is imperative that all of us speak out and act swiftly to combat this rise in racial violence. We must commit to ending such violence once and for all, and to stand together against attacks directed at communities of color. But we must also commit to address forthrightly the long history of discrimination against Asian Americans in this country, and to work in solidarity to combat white supremacy in all in its forms.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
