Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1360078
"In this fight to build a safe and just America, our words, actions and persistence matter." Elizabeth Douglas Photography H O M E S H O U L D A L W A Y S be a safe place, but it hasn't been lately for nearly 21 million Asian Americans facing a rising tide of racism. In the past year, Asian Americans reported nearly 4,000 hate inci- dents nationwide, with more than 1,500 occurring here in California. This has created a climate where many of our Asian American and Pacic Islander (AAPI) friends, colleagues and family are fearful to go outside and potentially become the target of hate-fueled violence. ese fears were terrifyingly realized in March when eight people — including six Asian women — were murdered in a racist rampage in Atlanta. We call out these vile acts of racism, and we condemn the violence against our AAPI community. We mourn with our AAPI family, and we commit to support you in the continued ght against racism and white supremacy. We stand with you. Anti-Asian hate has always existed, but only recently has America started paying attention. Despite helping build California and our nation since the 1850s, Asian Americans have long faced racism, dis- crimination and even internment. e recent rise in racist rhetoric has led to the explosion of hate nationwide, targeting the AAPI community and other people of color. I can only imagine how our Asian American students feel. As a Black man in America, I know the pain of being hated for who I am and how I look. We all deserve the right to live, work and breathe peacefully in our neighborhoods. We must continue the ght against racism in our communities — rising in solidarity like #BlackLivesMatter, La Causa, the Native rights movement, and countless other struggles against white supremacy in our history. In this fight to build a safe and just America, our words, actions and persistence matter. We have a duty to continue the work that others before us started, in our schools and communities — and we will not relent. As we return to in-person schooling, we must commit to creating safe, supportive environments, bringing awareness to these import- ant issues, and letting our students and families know we stand with the AAPI community and all people ghting hate — because America should be a safe home for all of us. E. Toby Boyd C T A P R E S I D E N T @etobyboyd Our Home Should Be Safe Advocacy at Work CTA's work and your advocacy to open schools when safe, and our combined e™orts to demand educators be prioritized for vac- cinations, have made a di™erence. To date, more than 200,000 educators (and more each day!) have been vaccinated already. Congratulations! 5 A P R I L / M AY 2 0 21 P R E S I D E N T ' S M E S S A G E