Biden makes strongest statement condemning racism and xenophobia

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

Just days after a mass shooting that claimed eight lives, including the lives of six Asian women in Georgia, President Biden spoke about racism and xenophobia in the strongest terms since he assumed the presidency.

"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.

“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.

Sheriff's spokesperson removed from Georgia shooting case

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Cherokee County Captain Jay Baker at a press conference.

The public information officer for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office that made inappropriate comments regarding the fatal shootings in the Atlanta area and linked to a controversial Facebook racist page has been removed from the case.

Cherokee County Communications Director Erika Neldner made the announcement  removing Captain Jay Baker from the case that took eight lives. Six of the slaying victims were Asian women. She said that he will be assuming those duties for this case.

During a Wednesday press conference discussing the investigation of the shooting and the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, Baker said Long was "pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope" and saying that Tuesday "was a really bad day for him and this is what he did."

Baker also said while the suspect told investigators that he was a "sex addict" and the killings were a way of stopping that behavior.

"In as much as his words were taken or construed as insensitive or inappropriate, they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect,” Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in the statement, noting Baker's remarks launched "much debate and anger."

“Captain Baker had a difficult task before him, and this was one of the hardest in his twenty-eight years in law enforcement."

No comment was made about the Facebook page apparently posted by Baker that was selling a T-shirt blaming "Chy-na" for COVID-19.

The shooting spree at three Asian-owned spas left eight dead in total: Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Park Hyeon Jeong, and two others whose names have not been released.

Authorities said although the slayings haven't been labeled a hate crime, they were still investigating the motivations of the gunman. Unlike most other states that have hate crime rules for years, Georgia's hate crime law was signed into law only a year ago.

“Beyond processing evidence from the scenes, investigators are taking a hard look at what motivated the shooter. Our investigation is far from over and we have not ruled anything out,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement Wednesday night.

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.