Like most of you, I have been saddened, frustrated, and outraged by the increasing racial and ethnic violence toward the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. Our AAPI friends, neighbors, family members, and colleagues are hurting in the face of these hateful attacks, and now more than ever, we must stand in support.

This country offers the promise of “liberty and justice for all,” but those are hollow words when any among us face racism, violence, and inequities simply because of our heritage. The AAPI community is not monolithic, but complex and diverse – representing many nationalities, heritages, languages, and socioeconomic statuses. As we seek to engage and support the AAPI community, we must acknowledge and embrace those complexities. We are all safer, stronger, and better when we work together – acknowledging and celebrating our uniqueness as well as finding common ground in our shared strengths.

Charles Yu wrote in his novel Interior Chinatown, “You came here, your parents and their parents and their parents, and you always seem to have just arrived and yet never seem to have actually arrived.” Now is the moment where all Americans must demonstrate, in our words and deeds, that Asian Americans and the AAPI experience – in all its diverse and meaningful ways – is part of the fabric of America that makes this country extraordinary. On behalf of the team members at ACT, I stand alongside our AAPI colleagues, friends, families, and neighbors, united against hate, ready to listen and learn. To speak and advocate. To show up and say, “you matter.”