The Asian/Asian American Faculty and Staff Association (AAAFSA) roundly condemns the posting of racist—specifically anti-Chinese—fliers on campus during the first week of April. This act of racism is at once violent and cowardly. Violent because it aims to create an environment of hostility against a specific racial group. Cowardly because it was done anonymously. Our organization recognizes and supports the University administration’s statement against this act of racism, as well as its efforts to investigate the source of it.
Racism should have no place on campus. This much is obvious. Less obvious is the fact that racism pervades campus life in ways that normally go unnoticed by the broader public. The posting of the fliers is an only an overt form of anti-Asian harassment that many members of our community experience on a daily basis, albeit in less sensational ways. Therefore, in addition to calling for more tolerance and diversity on campus, AAFSA also calls for more anti-racism. Anti-racism involves actively exposing, challenging and holding accountable all forms of racism that take place on campus. It means providing information and training on how to identify, counter and hold accountable racist statements and actions.
Anti-racism remains as important today as ever, especially during this moment in which we are witnessing an uptick in anti-immigrant, xenophobic and cultural nationalist rhetoric throughout the broader public. We call on those who believe in racial justice to strengthen their resolve during these times. As public displays of racism increase in frequency, they must be met with even bolder statements and actions of anti-racism.
April. 19th, 2017