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The Appleton, WI, Common Council hesitated this past Wednesday (April 21) when asked to pass a resolution condemning xenophobia, racism and anti-Asian violence and encouraging Appleton to become a more welcoming, inclusive community. ESTHER president Gary Crevier has issued this statement in response. For more background, please see this article from the Appleton Post-Crescent, published the day after the Council’s deliberations and decision. Click Read More below for the full text of the proposed resolution.
Dear ESTHER Folks,
As ESTHER president I spoke to Appleton’s common council this past week to support the resolution condemning xenophobia specifically related to our Asian & Pacific Islander community. We as ESTHER stand in solidarity with this beloved community. We are collectively disappointed in the Appleton Common Council’s action to push back the resolution to condemn xenophobia, racism, anti-Asian violence, and we are disturbed by their desire to change the AAPI narrative and lived experiences.
Thank you to Council Member Maiyoua Thao and all the sponsors of this resolution. We stand with you in calling out xenophobia, racism, sexism, and all forms of hate. We hope this resolution is not gutted from its original intent and that when it comes back to Council, the City will make a stand to support the AAPI community fully.
In these times of crisis, let’s come together and build strong communities of trust, where we all feel safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, where all children feel comfortable going to school, where our elders are not shrouded in fear, and where all our loved ones have the freedom to thrive.
Please contact your Common Council representative to share your thoughts on this issue.
Gary Crevier
ESTHER President
Resolution XX-R-21
Submitted by: Maiyoua Thao – District 7, Vered Meltzer – District 2, Katie Van Zeeland – District 5, Denise Fenton – District 6, Alex Schultz – District 9, Nate Wolff – District 12
RESOLUTION CONDEMNING XENOPHOBIA, RACISM, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER DESIAMERICAN (APIDA)COMMUNITY.
WHEREAS, 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for 7 percent of the population in the United States; and
WHEREAS, anti-Asian racism and hate are not new and have a long history in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Asian Americans have far too long been the target of xenophobic policies, labor exploitation, hate crimes, and systemic racism in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the use of anti-Asian rhetoric, especially as it intensified this past year, has resulted in Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID–19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism has found that anti-Asian hate crime in the 16 largest cities in the U.S. increased nearly 150% in 2020; and
WHEREAS, according to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, nearly 4,000 hate incidents directed at AAPIs were reported between March 2020 and February 2021; and
WHEREAS, in the last year, Asian American and Pacific Islander women made up 68 percent of the 3,800 incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and
WHEREAS, since the start of year 2021, there has been a surge in anti-Asian attacks targeting elderly Asian Americans; and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize that naming COVID–19 by its geographic location or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigma; and
WHEREAS, this modern form of discrimination falls within a long-established historical pattern of scapegoating or characterizing Asians as foreign, invasive threats, or as “the other” that has contributed to demonstrated negative health effects in our AAPI communities; and
WHEREAS, the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID-19, such as the “Chinese Virus”, “Wuhan Virus”, and “Kung-flu” have perpetuated anti-Asian stigma; and
WHEREAS, no one should live in fear in our communities across Wisconsin and the United States; and
WHEREAS, the City’s AAPI residents are valued contributors to the City’s workforce, economy, and political representation; and
WHEREAS, in Appleton, our thriving AAPI community is a major proportion of all of our residents and a thriving diverse community that spans languages, nationalities, ethnicities, cultures and more; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Jake Woodford and Appleton Police Department Chief Todd Thomas recently announced that “hate has no home” in Appleton and they stand with the AAPI community in condemning all acts of discrimination and violence; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Appleton Common Council that the City of Appleton condemns violence of all forms against the APIDA community.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Appleton Common Council condemns all acts of racism, xenophobia, sexism, gender-based violence, discrimination, anti-Asian bias, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Appleton Common Council encourages leaders at all levels to recommit the United States to serve as a world leader in building more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant communities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Appleton Common Council encourages the Attorney General to work with State and local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations to prevent discrimination and expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate education campaigns on public reporting of hate crimes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Appleton Common Council recognizes the City of Appleton Police Department in its continuing work with local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations to prevent discrimination, expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate education campaigns on public reporting of hate crimes, and build intentional relationships with the diverse communities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Appleton Common Council encourages everyone to condemn anti-Asian bias, read, learn, and seek opportunities to experience cultures other than their own, review their practices that may create barriers or contribute to systemic racism, and in these ways and others seek to become a more welcoming, inclusive, anti-racist community.
