Media Contact:
Jordan Baker
jbaker@frac.org
202-640-1118
Statement attributable to Luis Guardia, President, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2021 — Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that Asian Americans have been living in fear. In addition to being disproportionately impacted by the public health and hunger crisis, these communities increasingly have become the target of hate crimes. The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) emphatically condemns the acts of violence committed against Asian Americans. The senseless and tragic events over the past year, and as recently as yesterday in Atlanta, must stop — now.
Our country is witnessing in horrific detail how incendiary rhetoric from racist voices, including that of the former president and how he described the pandemic, has been weaponized, leading to a marked increase in physical assaults and murders perpetrated on Asian Americans simply for being Asian Americans. Since last year, Stop AAPI Hate alone has recorded nearly 4,000 hate crimes against Asian Americans.
FRAC stands firmly on the side of racial equity and justice, and we will continue to speak out and combat these and all forms of racism. Social justice begins by breaking down racist, systemic barriers. This includes ensuring the too often overlooked voices of marginalized communities, including Asian Americans, are at the center of conversations around poverty and hunger in this country.
###
For 50 years, the Food Research & Action Center has been the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.
