AAPI Statement of Solidarity

TRIGGER WARNING: The following contains discussion of violence against Asian, Asian American, and/or Pacific Islander presenting or identifying individuals and communities. No detailed or graphic descriptions are used.

We are writing to you today in support and love for people on our Groundwork Denver staff, on our board, on our youth teams, in our Denver community, in our national Groundwork USA network, and in all communities around the country who identify or present as Asian, Asian American, and/or Pacific Islander.  We grieve, witness, name, and are affected by the uptick in violence against Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander individuals and communities in the past year, including the shootings in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, of 6 women of Asian descent:  

• Xiaojie Tan (49) 
• Daoyou Feng (44)  
• Hyun Jung Grant Kim (51) 
• Soon Chung Park (74) 
• Suncha Kim (69)  
• Yong A. Yue (63) 

a February assault and robbery of a 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother in San Jose; a February attack on a New York subway of Noel Quintana (61) who is of Filipino descent; the attack and murder of a Thai man named Vichar Ratanapakdee (84) in San Francisco in January; and upwards of 3,795 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination across the United States between March 19, 2020, and February 26, 2021, according to Stop AAPI Hate’s self-reporting tool.  We know that this number only captures a fraction of what AAPI individuals and communities have experienced in the past year, and although the violence increased since the COVID pandemic started, we acknowledge that anti-Asian discrimination and violence is documented throughout Colorado and US History.   

Groundwork Denver is in solidarity with AAPI communities. We denounce hate, violence, and discrimination towards Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, and any individual, group of people, or earth.  Groundwork Denver honors the unique gifts, wisdom, and dignity of each individual, community, and ecosystem as we work to dismantle racism, environmental injustices, xenophobia, and other damaging systems of oppression. We invite you to join us as we work to uplift an environment that is lush, verdant, green, and fertile, that which is abundant and equitably shared so each individual, community, and ecosystem may live and thrive to their full potential.