Dear Friends & Community:

With great sorrow and compassion, once again, we issue another statement of solidarity with our fellow human beings who have been attacked because of their skin color and ethnicity. A Responsive Grant is available to offer immediate support to communities in Connecticut responding to current and emerging threats, trauma and harassment against the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

Our country has a long and shameful history of discrimination and othering against Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. Anti-Asian rhetoric was promulgated repeatedly by the previous Presidential administration, especially related to the pandemic, and we are now witnessing the devastating consequences. And we know this most recent racist rhetoric is built upon centuries of anti-Asian US policies and practices.

The brutal murders of six people of Asian descent yesterday in Atlanta are the latest horrific acts in the more than 3,700 reports of incidents of racism and violence across the country against Asian Americans during the last year. In this moment, we are even more cognizant that women and genderqueer people of color are subjected to even greater danger due to the intersection of misogyny and white supremacy. We must note that reports that the victims may have been targeted because of the association between Asian massage businesses/Asian women and sex work do not in any way diminish the inherent value of their humanity or their worthiness of protection from sexist or racist violence. All people targeted by sexism, including sex workers, deserve to live free of the terrors of misogyny and white supremacy. 

We as individuals and as an organization denounce all forms of hate and exploitation targeting Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and of all people who claim their heritage in the Asian diaspora. We are committed to using our privilege as a white family foundation, our influence in the community and the field of philanthropy, and our funds to combat white supremacy and racism, working for the safety and rights of all people, including Asian and Pacific Islander people. 

To our Asian and Pacific Islander siblings: you are not alone; we are with you. More than ever, we are committed to our mission of creating equity by working with people affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty.

Signed,

Staff & Trustees of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund