Active Minds AAPI Solidarity Statement
Channel: San Joaquin Delta College Digital Media
Date: 2021-04-08

Active Minds Statement of Solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities 

*Thank you to all those who participated in the production of this video. Special thanks to Digital Media lab tech Leo Marquez for his work in creating the final edit. 

In the last year, the United States has seen an increase in racist and xenophobic actions and attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.   

The Stop Hate AAPI Reporting Center states California has received over 1600 reports of hate incidents between March of 2020 and February of this year.  

The news has reported some incidents, including a violent attack against an elderly Chinese man, an attack and robbery of an elderly Vietnamese woman, and a fatal attack on an elderly Thai man.  All these incidents occurred in the Bay Area in the last few weeks. But there may be more that have gone unreported.  

On March 16, 2021, there was a mass murder of AAPI community members in Atlanta. In a domestic terrorist attack, 8 people were killed, 6 were women in spa-related businesses. For Asian women, race and misogyny have a long history as Asian women have been exoticized and sexualized in popular culture permeating larger cultural stereotypes of AAPI communities. The attack in Atlanta is not an isolated incident, but the terrible culmination of recent and historic anti-AAPI misinformation in the United States. This horrific racist and misogynistic behavior cannot be tolerated.   

The Stockton community has a rich history tied to the AAPI experience. Stockton’s own Little Manila reflects the history of the Filipino farmworkers of the 1920s and ’30s who settled in Stockton. Those farmworkers were critical allies to the Chicano/Latinx and labor movements of the 1960s, led by Larry Itliong, who led alongside Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez. That movement was part of the great awakening of social justice and civil rights. The San Joaquin County fairgrounds were once home to the Japanese incarceration camps of the 1940s, an unfortunate reminder of the dangerous implications of stereotyping and racial bias. On our own campus, we have the Elizabeth Humbarger Tolerance garden and counseling center. Elizabeth Humbarger was a teacher and mentor to many Japanese Americans. Her own story is directly tied to the camps at the fairgrounds. Elizabeth bravely fought against stereotypes when her students were incarcerated. Instead of turning a blind eye, she drove to the camps with other educators to preserve the students’ right to education. Our garden, located behind the Student Services building is a physical reminder of Elizabeth’s example to stand in solidarity with those who are oppressed, disenfranchised, or otherwise dehumanized by racism.  

The scars of racial trauma run deep. The National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association explains racial trauma can result in fear, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, humiliation, sleeplessness, and high levels of stress. The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) states 23.3% of Asian American and Pacific Islanders with a mental illness received treatment in 2019. Active Minds at San Joaquin Delta College is the campus student club that focuses on mental health awareness. AAPI communities largely do not seek mental health services due to systemic barriers, stigma, and shame. The hate, violent attacks, senseless deaths, and suffering must stop. This past year has been a painful and heartbreaking journey for many. Our mental, emotional, and physical health has been challenged more than ever. We must stand together to heal the division of our nation. We cannot and will not remain silent.  

Active Minds at San Joaquin Delta College takes a definitive stance against racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and ignorant stereotypes. We work to propagate an environment where all are valued, cared for, and validated without regard to gender, creed, religion, socio-economic status, or ethnicity. We must stand with our neighbors, support each other, and protect AAPI communities.