#BuildingCollectivePower: Taking a Minute from #APAAustin to Recognize, Combat Anti-APA Violence
March 13, 2021: In Los Angeles Little Tokyo, a crowd estimated at nearly 1,000 people rallied to jump-start community-building strategies in the face of increasing violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. (Photo: Abraham Ferrer/Visual Communications Photographic Archive)
Anyone visiting this page — whether you are gathering to celebrate APA cinematic artists at the South by Southwest Film Festival, or whether you will be attending the Tribeca Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, or any other event at which the organizers of the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience will be — certainly knows of the increasing incidences of violence against members of our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. As the events in and around Atlanta, GA on March 16 have made painfully clear, violence against our communities have escalated to deadly proportions.
In the face of these troubling times, the organizers of the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience encourages our guests and community of artists to seek participation and active organizing with groups and organizations dedicated to eradicating hate against our fellow community members. The following targetted list provides a "starter" resource for those unsure of where to turn to:
National/Regional/Local groups:
• ASIAN PACIFIC INSTITUTE ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
• ASIAN MENTAL HEALTH COLLECTIVE
• CHINATOWN COMMUNITY FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT
• HOLLABACK! BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TRAINING TO STOP ANTI-
ASIAN/AMERICAN AND XENOPHOBIC HARASSMENT
• KTOWN FOR BLACK LIVES (Insta: @ktown4blacklives)
• NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN WOMEN'S FORUM
• PROGRESSIVE ASIAN NETWORK FOR ACTION
Georgia-Based groups:
• ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - ATLANTA
• ASIAN AMERICAN ADVOCACY FUND
• ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER
• CENTER FOR PAN ASIAN COMMUNITY SERVICES
For additional resources, please see the "Community Action" page compiled by Jess Ju with assist by Sean Miura; this vital directory is hosted by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and supplements the brief listing above.