Statement in Solidarity with Asian and Pacific Islander Community
Artwork pictured by Phung Huynh as part of Utopia/Dystopia portfolio, 2019. Silkscreen, 15”x11”.
Dear Self Help Graphics Community,
On behalf of the board and staff, we are appalled by, and condemn the continued national wave of hate crimes against the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and enraged at the cowardice of the targeting of vulnerable elders, and the people who were murdered in yesterday’s shootings in Atlanta. We are deeply saddened by the thousands of hate crime accounts nationally and the deaths of Pak Ho (Oakland) and Vicha Ratanapakdee (San Francisco), que en paz descansen (may they rest in peace). We have also been heartened to see community members in person and via internet come together to identify these perpetrators.
We also acknowledge that violence comes in many forms, including in the form of gentrification and displacement. Our neighbors in Little Tokyo are facing the displacement of low-income families, elders, and small API-owned businesses out of a community they have shaped and built over decades. Please find out how you can support through our friends and partners at:
Self Help Graphics & Art understands that our respective movements toward a more just world are interdependent and in this moment of attacks on our API allies, we must continue to step up, speak up and protect each other.
In solidarity,
Endy Bernal Betty Avila
Board Chair Executive Director
*Artwork pictured by Phung Huynh as part of Utopia/Dystopia porftolio, 2019. Silkscreen, 15”x11”.