April 12, 2021
Dear American Association of Law Libraries Members,
We are deeply saddened and troubled by the killings of Daoyou Feng, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun, and Yong Ae Yue in Atlanta as well as by the surge in anti-Asian incidents over the past year. We condemn all of these attacks, as well as all incidents arising from systemic racism and racial hierarchies, directed at anyone, regardless of affinity group, such as the recent killings of Daunte Wright, a Black man, by police in Minnesota, and Adam Toledo, a Latino teen, by police in Chicago. Further, we regret that the April 15th killings of Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Johal, Jaswinder Kaur, Amarjit Sekhon, Jaswinder Singh, Karli Smith, and John Weisert, in Indianapolis, must be added to this list of victims.
Anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States increased 145% in 2020, while the overall hate crime rate decreased 6%, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino’s March 2021 Fact Sheet. The numbers underscore the crisis that people of Asian ancestry in the United States face today.
“You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it,” urged the late Asian American activist Grace Lee Boggs in a 2003 interview. As law librarians, we provide legal information and we teach legal research and information evaluation skills. Our expertise contributes to our nation’s system of justice by combatting the prejudiced thinking that manifests itself in physical and verbal acts of hatred.
As we unite to fight these injustices, we hope that you are doing well during this challenging time, more than a year into the global COVID-19 pandemic that has upended all of our lives. If you would like to consult resources to destress, to learn techniques to confront anti-Asian and any other form of hate, to defend yourself and to intervene on behalf of others, to volunteer, and/or to learn more about the rich and varied experiences of Asian Americans in the U.S., please see this list of resources created by the Asian American Law Librarians Caucus.
Together, we can stop this rising tide of violence. Please get involved in your workplaces and in your communities.
Sincerely,
The Asian American Law Librarians Caucus Board
The Legal History and Rare Books Special Interest Section
Black Law Librarians Special Interest Section - Chair, Errol Adams
Jewish Law Librarians Caucus
FCIL-SIS, Latin American Law Interest Group
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law SIS
AALL Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Sarah Lin, on behalf of the Northern California Association of Law Libraries (NOCALL) Board
First-Gen Professionals Caucus
The Research Instruction & Patron Services SIS Executive Board
Executive Board of the Western Pacific Chapter (WestPac) of AALL
Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) Executive Board
Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section (ALL-SIS)
Digitization and Educational Technology SIS Executive Board
Technical Services Special Interest Section (TS-SIS)
Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section (SR-SIS)
Chicago Association of Law Libraries Board
The Executive Committee of the Government Law Libraries – Special Interest Section
Interest Section
Legal Innovation & Technology SIS
Atlanta Law Libraries Association Executive Board
Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, DC
Law Library Association of Maryland Executive Board
Houston Area Law Librarians Board
Law Librarians of New England Executive Board
Statement amended April 19, 2021