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Resources for Allyship and Fighting Anti-Asian Discrimination

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Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. To achieve our mission, we must fight discrimination, bias, and racism in all forms. A world where anyone can belong takes all of us.

This week, we shared the following resources for allyship and fighting anti-Asian discrimination, prepared by Airbnb employee resource group Asians@, with all Airbnb employees. This guide was updated on March 22, 2021.

Asians@: Allyship resources to stand with the Asian and Pacific Islander community

The following educational and informational resources for allyship and fighting anti-Asian discrimination was prepared by Airbnb employee resource group Asians@.

Background

There has been a growing number of anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the pandemic, with Stop AAPI Hate receiving 3,795 reports of incidents between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021. This is believed to be just a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur. Most recently, we lost Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Hyun Jung Grant, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, and Xiaojie Tan in the violent shootings in Atlanta. And over the last several weeks, we’ve seen a horrific rise of anti-Asian violence directed at our elders. We denounce these violent acts happening to our community and would like to call on you to stand up against these injustices.

It’s important to note that hate crimes against our community are not new. The Asian and Pacific Islander community has been subject to anti-Asian xenophobia and racism well before COVID-19 (e.g. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese Internment camps, violence that led to the Filipino Farm Worker Movement, and more). And time and time again, when we’ve tried to raise our voices to speak up, we have been and continue to be silenced. Due to our white adjacency and the perpetuation of the model minority myth, our struggles have been and are often overlooked. We, too, are people of color who face injustices and discrimination, and we want to be seen and heard. 

We ask you to help elevate our voices and bring visibility to and justice for the Asian community. We’ve put together this resource guide to provide members of the Asian and Pacific Islander community, friends, and allies with ways to further understand, show your support, and stand up against anti-Asian racism in your communities. Download the Allyship guide here.

What we can do right now

1. Raise awareness, speak up, and condemn these attacks and anti-Asian racism

When the mainstream media does not give the Asian and Pacific Islander community enough coverage on these hate crimes, which has been the case this past year,  it further silences our struggles and perpetuates the misconception that we don’t face discrimination due to the color of our skin. Below is what you can do to elevate the Asian and Pacific Islander voice: 

2. Report instances of anti-Asian assault and crimes 

Report them at StopAAPIHate.org. 

3. Protect yourself in the face of discrimination or safely stand up for others as a bystander

Join webinars and training hosted by the Hollaback Bystander Intervention.

4. Learn about the history of Asian and Pacific Islander discrimination and other challenges we face 

5. Support, donate, and volunteer with organizations actively combating racism against the Asian and Pacific Islander community

Organizations to consider learning about and supporting: 

Atlanta-based community organizations 

  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Atlanta – the local Atlanta chapter of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice organized a fundraiser to help the victims and their families impacted by the violent acts that took place on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
  • Center for Pan Asian Services – a nonprofit located in Atlanta to promote self-sufficiency and equity for immigrants, refugees, and the underprivileged through comprehensive health and social services, capacity building, and advocacy.

US organizations and fundraisers

  • GoFundMe.org AAPI Community Fund – a fundraiser to support organizations that empower and uplift the Asian and Pacific Islander community, with initiatives such as increased community safety and support for those affected by violence. #StopAsianHate 
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC – a national nonprofit organization that focuses on housing rights, immigration, civil rights, labor rights, and others for Asian Americans.
  • Stop AAPI Hate – aggregates and responds to incidents of hate and harassment against Asian American/Pacific Islanders. 
  • Hate Is A Virus – started as a grassroots movement to combat racism and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders fueled by COVID-19, Hate Is A Virus has evolved into a sustainable organization that addresses xenophobia and hate in the AAPI and BIPOC communities.
  • Act To Change – a national nonprofit organization working to address bullying, including in the Asian and Pacific Islander community. They published “The Racism is a Virus Toolkit” to support the community in combating racism. 
  • National Council of Asian Pacific Americans – a nonprofit organization that serves to represent the interests of the greater Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities through a coalition of 37 national Asian Pacific American organizations around the country.
  • AAPI Civic Engagement Fund – a non-profit, non-partisan fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy that believes that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders must be an integral part of strengthening America’s democracy, improving the quality of life for all, and creating vibrant multiracial communities.

6. Be active in your community, company, and/or organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) space 

Join and support Asian and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) as well as a greater alliance of Asian ERGs like the Asian Leaders Alliance (ALA) to combat racism together.

The Asian Leaders Alliance (ALA)  is a consortium of Asian ERG and civic leaders collaborating to spur positive, long-term, and inclusive community impact. They have put together the following resources to support other Asian ERG leaders/members in addressing anti-Asian xenophobia and racism:

Join the ALA community: Subscribe to ALA. Discuss with ALA on Slack.

About Asians@ Employee Resource Group: Asians@ Airbnb is an employee resource group (ERG) dedicated to elevating the Asian and Pacific Islander voice in the community, towards the wider mission of Airbnb to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. 

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an increase in violence against Asians and Pacific Islanders. Over the last few weeks in particular, there has been a rise of anti-Asian violence, particularly targeting seniors across the US. At Airbnb, we reject racism, bigotry, and hate.

I also want to acknowledge the fact that today is Lunar New Year, a day that holds significance and meaning for many in our community. The fact that this violence coincides with such an important holiday can make these disturbing instances all the more painful.  At a time where many Asian Americans feel threatened by incidents of violence and racism it’s important to remember that we—and importantly our allies—can give comfort by standing with one another.

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, let’s remember to be vigilant in making sure bias and microaggressions don’t creep into our interactions with each other. Our Asians@ employee resource group has developed a guide to help allies become more active in fighting anti-Asian discrimination. We want to share this with our broader community in the hopes that together we can create a world where anyone can belong. 

–Hiroki Asai, Head of Global Marketing, Executive Sponsor, Asians@ Employee Resource Group

Email sent to Airbnb employees February 11, 2021