STATEMENT: Roosevelt Institute Responds to Atlanta Shooting and Recent Hate Crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community

The Roosevelt Institute grieves the murder of eight people, including six Asian women, in Atlanta, Georgia this week, and condemns the horrifying rise of hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) people in recent months.


These tragic killings and acts of violence have deep roots in white supremacist and anti-Asian beliefs and systems. 

Exclusionary and incendiary government policies and rhetoric have both ignited and fanned those flames. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the FDR administration’s incarceration of Japanese Americans, the Trump administration’s xenophobic language against AAPI people during this pandemic: Our history brought us to this moment.

We mourn the loss of eight lives to racist, hateful gun violence. We extend support and condolences to the families and loved ones of those lost, to the AAPI community, and to all those who grieve and relive enduring traumas. 

Today, we are led by a Chinese American woman,  and thus especially recognize the deep and sometimes invisible wounds caused by anti-Asian racism. 

We fight—for values, policies, and systems that will honor those we’ve lost, prevent violence, and end bigotry in all its forms.


About the Roosevelt Institute

The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank, a student network, and the nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum that, together, are learning from the past and working to redefine the future of the American economy. Focusing on corporate and public power, labor and wages, and the economics of race and gender inequality, the Roosevelt Institute unifies experts, invests in young leaders, and advances progressive policies that bring the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor into the 21st century.

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