VAALA grieves the killing of eight people in the Atlanta area on March 16, 2021, including six Asian American women. As an organization led primarily by Vietnamese women, we are exhausted and outraged. We stand in solidarity with social justice organizations working to Stop Asian Hate and to address the systemic racism, misogyny and violence in this country.
We collectively acknowledge the harm being enacted on Asian communities. This has resulted in anxiety and fear in the aftermath of more than 3800 reported hate crimes targeting Asian Americans since March 2020.
We encourage you to take the time to process your feelings and take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. Make space for sharing compassion and conversations with others, and seek advice, counseling, help, and support from trusted community resources.
We reject the idea of relying on law enforcement and the police as the solution. Instead, we advocate for directing resources toward education, mental health and wellness services for our most impacted communities.
We commit to expanding our knowledge of the long history of anti-Asian violence in the U.S and the violence enacted by the U.S. globally.
We seek to understand and address connections between race, class, and gender-based violence directed at our Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
We believe in the arts as a pathway for healing and disrupting the oppressive culture of white supremacy and racism. The power of the arts is in its ability to educate, connect, inspire, and promote deeper understanding of our identities and stories.
“Bẻ đũa không bẻ được cả nắm” – (Vietnamese proverb)
You can break one chopstick, but you can’t break a bundle.
In community and solidarity,
Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA)
Yvonne Tran, Board President
Julie Vo, Board Vice President
Thuy Vo Dang, PhD, Board Secretary
Thao Ha, PhD, Board Treasurer
Tu-Uyen Nguyen, PhD, Board Member
Matthew Diep, Board Member
Ysa Le, Executive Director
Christine Tran, Managing Director
Additional Resources
Stop AAPI Hate (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
Stop AAPI Hate National Report (March 2020-February 2021)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AJC (Washington, DC) (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
18 Million Rising (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
APIA Vote (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
APIA Health Forum (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (Website, Twitter, Facebook)
Stop Asian Hate Go Fund Me Donation Page https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
Orange County Asian Pacific Community Alliance (OCAPICA)
Viet Rainbow of Orange County
Viet-CARE
VietRISE