Warm Pentecost greetings!
On behalf of the Asian American Language Ministries, I would like to share with y’all the solidarity statement that we officially released today, joining with many voices in calling for the dismantling of racism and white supremacy.
In our statement, we strongly condemn the brutal and avoidable murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and the unconscionable number of precious Black lives that have been lost as a result of racist violence. We also call on the Church and all Asian/Asian American caucuses to commit to oppose, and work towards dismantling and ending practices, traditions, and structural systems that uphold racism, white supremacy, and white privilege.
Furthermore, the statement calls on Asian Americans to rise up at this pivotal moment and acknowledge the indebtedness of Asian Americans to the struggle and contributions of African Americans that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which in turn paved the way to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The statement affirms: “The rights and benefits that Asian Americans now enjoy are an ongoing reminder of the sacrifices and struggles of African Americans in the United States. This calls on us to tackle the racism African Americans have faced in faithful and strategic ways by standing in solidarity with our African American brothers and sisters.” And the statement also strongly condemns all racist practices and structural systems that victimize and marginalize Asian and Asian American communities and commits to stand in faithful solidarity with the African American community to oppose the forces of hatred, evil and death.
Our next step is to work together on developing a plan to offer Anti-Racism Training to our caucus leadership so that they can also train, and work with, others in our respective communities. As President of the NAFAUM, we will take the lead in creating spaces/platforms (between now until 2021 General Conference) for virtual conversations among Asian American churches and communities on the topic of “Dismantling Racism and White Supremacy.”
Your help in sharing this solidarity statement throughout the North Carolina Conference will be greatly appreciated.
Grace & Peace,
Rev. Edgar De Jesus
President, National Association of Filipino American United Methodists