Equality North Carolina stands in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in light of the horrific murders in Atlanta this week that left six women of Asian descent and two others dead.

For too long, the racism, discrimination and violence experienced by the AAPI community in this country has been overlooked, and oftentimes invalidated, by America's legal and justice systems. These communities experience the lived impact of white supremacy every day, and suffer under systems of power and privilege in ways often invisibilized within the large movement for civil rights. Racism and white supremacy deserve to be called out for what they are -- and that's what we saw on display this week in Atlanta, particularly when white authorities attempted to dismiss the actions of the shooter as him having "a bad day."

Throughout the course of the pandemic, we've seen a rising tide of anti-Asian sentiment and harassment happening in tandem with the escalation of violence against trans women of color. So far in 2021, we know of ten transgender folks who have lost their lives to violence – a whopping 266% increase from this point last year.

Equality NC will continue to fight for a better, more compassionate world for all Americans who suffer under white supremacy, including the AAPI community.