HCUCC Justice & Witness Chairperson Issues Statement Condemning Anti-Asian Racism

(Originally published in the Coconut Wireless, March 24, 2021.)

Read a statement from Linda Rich (Church of the Crossroads), Chairperson of the Hawai'i Conference Justice & Witness Missional Team:

Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of the murders in Atlanta. We grieve with them and for the nation where hatred, anger and racism have such a strong presence.

The horrific shooting of six Asian women last week was shocking. Yet this is only one of almost 4,000 documented incidents of violence against Asian Americans in the past year. From an Asian cardiologist having her mask ripped from her face in a market, to the death of an elderly Vietnamese man shoved to his death, to a Japanese woman in her 80's being attacked as she walked down the sidewalk, our brothers and sisters of Asian ancestry are being brutalized.

Sadly, the racism that underlies these acts of hatred has been promoted by some public officials, tapping into the racism that is a longstanding part of our national history. By linking Asians to the current pandemic and scapegoating them as the cause of the hardship and loss that many Americans have experienced, they have unfairly been made the targets of pent-up frustration and anger.

There is no place in the Kin-dom of God for racism, violence or hatred. As Christians, we are called to stand, as Jesus did, with the oppressed. We are called to work for justice and reconciliation.

Our national UCC office has provided us with resources from Pacific Islander & Asian American Ministries (PAAM) and The UCC's Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM), in collaboration with the UCC's Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM), which you will find below. Please read them, use them, and share them with your church members. Let us pray for healing and work for justice and reconciliation.

• UCC PAAM: Hate has no place here!

• The national leadership of the UCC joins the National Council of Churches in grieving the deaths of eight people, including six Asian women, shot by a lone gunman at three Atlanta spas on March 16. The UCC shares the NCC statement and offers a prayer for the victims and their families which can be viewed HERE.

• Take action with the UCC to condemn anti-Asian sentiment and racist attacks by supporting the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (NY) and Rep. Mazie K. Hirono (HI).

• CHHSM and COREM have submitted a resolution to the UCC General Synod declaring racism a public health crisis.

• Religions for Peace (RFP)USA issued a Statement Regarding Recent Anti-Asian American Rhetoric and Violence.