MLA Statement Opposing Anti-Asian Violence

The Music Library Association condemns violence and racism against our Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander colleagues and those we serve. We are deeply saddened and shocked at the recent tragic murders in Atlanta, and we mourn those lost:

Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez
Paul Andre Michels
Xiaojie Tan
Daoyou Feng
Julie Soon Chung Park
Hyun Jung Grant
Suncha Kim
Yong Ae Yue
Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz

The United States has a painful history of anti-Asian violence, and we have seen a sharp increase in violence, racism, harassment, and microaggressions in the last year. This increase causes significant pain and fear for many of our Asian and Pacific Islander members, partners, patrons, their communities, and loved ones. We see you, and we acknowledge your suffering, strength, and courage.

CALLS TO ACTION:

We must educate ourselves on how we can better support Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities in our organization, in our institutions, and in our broader communities. Website resources at organizations such as Stop AAPI Hate and Asian Americans Advancing Justice provide good starting points to support further growth.


We encourage ourselves to speak up against, report, and document hate and harassment, with the ability to do so at https://www.standagainsthatred.org/report or https://stopaapihate.org/reportincident/.

We urge ourselves as bystanders to safely intervene during acts of hate whenever possible. Numerous bystander training sessions are currently taking place virtually; many sessions hosted by Asian Americans Advancing Justice are here: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/events.

Within our organization, workplaces, and broader lives, we more mindfully examine and address our own use of harmful stereotypes or the making “invisible” of others.