LADOT stands firmly against racism, misogyny, violence, and discrimination in all its forms. The mass shooting we saw in Atlanta that took the lives of eight innocent people, including six Asian women, is sadly only the latest incident in what has been a record-breaking year for hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in our country. We denounce these heinous acts and stand in solidarity with our AAPI colleagues and friends, their families, and the people we serve who are directly impacted by these attacks.
While we are seeing a troubling uptick of hate crimes against the AAPI community, anti-AAPI racism is not new. Our colleagues and the people we serve have been coping with racial trauma and discrimination for generations. Asian immigrant women in particular have been the target of multiple forms of violence in our longer American history, including our wars abroad, the use of Asian immigrant labor, and internment camps on US soil.
To our AAPI colleagues, know that we see you, acknowledge your pain, and are here to support you. We know these incidents can reopen wounds for you and your loved ones. Please remember to take advantage of resources available to you, including our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP). If you want to learn more about the history and recent instances of anti-AAPI racism and want to take action to support our AAPI community, we suggest visiting trusted sites that share more information about how you can get involved including the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center and the LA vs Hate community-centered creative campaign.
At LADOT, we remain committed to creating a workplace that is inclusive, safe, and supportive for all employees. We will continue to listen to our staff and community and take action as necessary. To that end, we worked with our recently launched Racial Equity Core Team to develop this message and will continue to partner with our staff to ensure we are providing a safe space to discuss race, equity, and inclusion.