Biden orders flags to fly half-staff; meeting with AAPI community in Atlanta

The Gold Spa in Atlanta was the scene for one of the shootings last Tuesday.

"We stand with you," Vice President Kamala Harris addressing the AAPI community after a shooting spree in Atlanta where eight people were fatally shot, six of the victims were of Asian descent.

President Joe Biden Thursday has ordered the flag at the White House and at other federal flag facilities to fly at half-staff in memory of the victims of the Atlanta shootings. Biden and Harris are also scheduled to meet with members of the AAPI community in Atlanta on Friday.

"In honor of the victims of the senseless shootings in Atlanta, I’ve ordered the flag of the United States to be flown at half-staff. To the loved ones of those we lost on Tuesday, know the nation mourns with you," said the President.

The Atlanta carnage happened Tuesday,  in a tense national climate after violence against Asians and Asian Americans have blown up to alarming numbers in the past year placing the AAPI communities across the nation on edge.

President Joe Biden said in the Oval Office that he was "very concerned because, as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months."

"And I think it is very, very troubling. But I'm making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer from, as the investigation proceeds, from the FBI and from the Justice Department," he said. "I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed."

The Georgia incidents are the latest in what the Asian communities in the U.S. have described as an epidemic of hate, blaming Asians for the pandemic and the economic hardships befalling the nation.

"It is tragic. Our country, the President and I and all of us, we grieve for the loss," said  Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold her office, on Wednesday. "Our prayers are extended to the families of those who have been killed, and it speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it."

"I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people," she said.

"(K)nowing the increasing level of hate crimes against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate," she added.

Biden and Harris were already scheduled to travel to Atlanta on Friday as part of their effort to sell the American Rescue Plan to voters. In a statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden has been briefed on the “horrific” shootings and in contact with federal and local law enforcement.

Yesterday evening eight people were killed at three separate spas in North Georgia. Six of the people killed were Asian and all but one were women.

“We are heartbroken by these acts of violence. Six Asian women lost their lives. Now is the time to hold the victims and their families in our hearts and in our light. We’re calling on our allies across communities of color to stand with us in grief and solidarity against racist violence in all its forms. When our most vulnerable community members are targeted, we all need to band together,” shared Stephanie Cho, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. 

"While anti-Asian violence is woven throughout our nation’s history, the Trump administration’s relentless scapegoating of Asians for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidences of hate and violence against Asian Americans around the country," said Cho.

According to the most recent data, hate incidents targeting Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted. Stop AAPI Hate received 3,800 reports of anti-Asian hate since March 2020 to February 2021, with 35% of discriminatory acts happening at businesses and with women reporting hate incidents twice as men.

“That the Asian women murdered yesterday were working highly vulnerable and low-wage jobs during an ongoing pandemic speaks directly to the compounding impacts of misogyny, structural violence, and white supremacy,” said Phi Nguyen, Litigation Director at Asian American Advancing Justice - Atlanta.

"In Georgia, as in many states across the country, systemic disinvestment from and criminalization of communities of color means that we do not have the infrastructure or resources in place for effective community safety, a robust social service safety net, and in-language support. In addition, white supremacy devalues the lives and experiences of immigrant communities, Black communities, and other communities of color while heightening xenophobia and divisions among us. 

"It is time for Georgia to invest in transformative justice that begins with cross racial dialogue and community-building that address the root causes of violence and hate," concluded Nguyen.