In Support of Our Asian Community Members

When we leave our homes, go to work, or simply live our lives, we expect to be safe. We have the right to feel and be safe.

Recent acts of targeted racial violence have taken away that sense of safety from many. Tuesday’s terrible shooting in Atlanta has impacted our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander friends and colleagues.

Sadly, this is not the first time that members of our community have been traumatized due to violence grown from prejudice and intolerance. We have increasingly seen that a large part of our society, far larger than we want to believe, tolerates or even embraces racist behavior. This can be isolating because it can be hard to know if the person next to you at the store or on the sidewalk thinks that way.

As the Medical School community, we must come together to be a place of safety and support. We must stand together, grieve together, and care for each other. Understand that we cannot know how someone is feeling and how they are doing unless we ask. Be compassionate and stay connected.

We are firmly aligned with President Gabel’s statement. We openly denounce all forms of violence, discrimination, racism, and bias, including the hateful acts in Atlanta. We will embrace our responsibility to identify, understand, and dismantle the mechanisms that allow racism to persist. We will be a place of safety in the world.

These are difficult and stressful times. If you need additional support, please know that these University resources are available to you.

And always, always, remember that our first commitment to each other is to be kind.