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SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN |
"One of the core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans is standing against hate and racism, even as we acknowledge that systemic racism and white supremacy are ugly poisons that have long plagued the United States," Biden said Sunday.
Biden made his statement on United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, created in the 1970s to mark a 1960 massacre in South Africa.
"We must change the laws that enable discrimination in our country, and we must change our hearts," he added.
"We must recognize the ways that racism, gender discrimination, and other forms of marginalization intersect with and compound one another, Biden continued. "And, we must all strive to eliminate inequities in our policies, remove barriers to full participation in our societies, and push for open and inclusive processes that respect all people everywhere."
Biden's statement comes after a Friday visit to Atlanta where he met with AAPI leaders after a shooting spree by a lone white gunman killed eight people and a year-long upsurge of hate and violence targeting Asian Americans.
After that meeting, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the daughter of an Indian American mother and Jamaican father, said: “Racism is real in America and it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism too.”
#StopAAPIHate has collected over 3,800 reports of discrimination or assaults against AAPI since the coronavirus forced a partial shutdown of most of America as a means to slow the spread of the virus.
Many people blame the rise of hate towards AAPI on Donald Trump's use of terms that linked the disease to Asia and Asian Americans. The racist rhetoric coincided with the rise of white supremacists who were emboldened by Trump's presidency.
Although, the brazen shooting spree has not been labeled a "hate" crime despite the death of the six Asian women and the shooter targeted three Asian-owned establishments.
Biden continued his statement: "We will not shy away from engaging in the hard work to take on the damaging legacy of slavery and our treatment of Native Americans, or from doing the daily work of addressing systemic racism and violence against Black, Native, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color."
Biden’ statement, issued on Sunday night, marks the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, created in the 1970s to mark a 1960 massacre in South Africa.
One of the core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans is standing against hate and racism, even as we acknowledge that systemic racism and white supremacy are ugly poisons that have long plagued the United States. We must change the laws that enable discrimination in our country, and we must change our hearts.
Racism, xenophobia, nativism, and other forms of intolerance are not problems unique to the United States. They are global problems. They are human problems that we all need to recognize, name, and dismantle. Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, all nations and people should recommit to the fundamental truth that every human being has inherent dignity and deserves to be treated with fairness. We must recognize the ways that racism, gender discrimination, and other forms of marginalization intersect with and compound one another. And, we must all strive to eliminate inequities in our policies, remove barriers to full participation in our societies, and push for open and inclusive processes that respect all people everywhere.
Under my Administration, the United States will lead the conversation on these painful issues—at home, in international institutions, and around the world. That is why, on my first day in office, I signed an Order establishing a whole of government approach to equity and racial justice. We will not shy away from engaging in the hard work to take on the damaging legacy of slavery and our treatment of Native Americans, or from doing the daily work of addressing systemic racism and violence against Black, Native, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color. Neither will we fail to speak out against the horrific mistreatment of the Rohingya in Burma, the Uyghurs in China, or any racial discrimination we see in the world.
Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It should have no safe harbor anywhere in the world. We must join together to make it stop.
Biden’ statement, issued on Sunday night, marks the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, created in the 1970s to mark a 1960 massacre in South Africa.
One of the core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans is standing against hate and racism, even as we acknowledge that systemic racism and white supremacy are ugly poisons that have long plagued the United States. We must change the laws that enable discrimination in our country, and we must change our hearts.
Racism, xenophobia, nativism, and other forms of intolerance are not problems unique to the United States. They are global problems. They are human problems that we all need to recognize, name, and dismantle. Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, all nations and people should recommit to the fundamental truth that every human being has inherent dignity and deserves to be treated with fairness. We must recognize the ways that racism, gender discrimination, and other forms of marginalization intersect with and compound one another. And, we must all strive to eliminate inequities in our policies, remove barriers to full participation in our societies, and push for open and inclusive processes that respect all people everywhere.
Under my Administration, the United States will lead the conversation on these painful issues—at home, in international institutions, and around the world. That is why, on my first day in office, I signed an Order establishing a whole of government approach to equity and racial justice. We will not shy away from engaging in the hard work to take on the damaging legacy of slavery and our treatment of Native Americans, or from doing the daily work of addressing systemic racism and violence against Black, Native, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color. Neither will we fail to speak out against the horrific mistreatment of the Rohingya in Burma, the Uyghurs in China, or any racial discrimination we see in the world.
Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It should have no safe harbor anywhere in the world. We must join together to make it stop.
“Racism is real in America and it has always been,” said Harris, the country’s first Asian-American, first Black and first female vice president. “Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism too.” she said.
Biden’ statement, issued on Sunday night, marks the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, created in the 1970s to mark a 1960 massacre in South Africa.
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