CONTACT:
Silvia Lew
Co-Chair, Media & Publicity Committee
Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
communications@apalaweb.org
The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association stands in solidarity with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and the communities and families impacted by the recent racially-motivated mass shootings targeting African American grocery shoppers in Buffalo (NY), Asian-owned businesses in Dallas (TX), and Taiwanese churchgoers in Laguna Woods (CA). We affirm BCALA’s Statement, “BCALA Stands in Solidarity with Families and Victims Of The Mass Shooting in Buffalo, New York,” and call upon our members and the library profession to reaffirm their own commitments towards demonstrating that Black Lives Matter, and to Stop Asian Hate. We encourage you to read BCALA’s Stands In Solidarity statement.
We want to say the names of the victims of the Buffalo Shootings, their lives matter:
- Roberta A. Drury of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 32
- Margus D. Morrison of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 52
- Andre Mackneil of Auburn, N.Y. – age 53
- Aaron Salter of Lockport, N.Y. – age 55
- Geraldine Talley of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 62
- Celestine Chaney of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 65
- Heyward Patterson of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 67
- Katherine Massey of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 72
- Pearl Young of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 77
- Ruth Whitfield of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 86
Sources: NPR
To donate funds to directly support the victims and survivors of the Buffalo shooting, please visit: https://nationalcompassion.org/fund/buffalo-survivors-fund or https://www.gofundme.com/f/buffalo-survivors-fund.
Our heartfelt condolences to the Laguna Woods community for the loss of Dr. John Cheng.
The recent and increasing number of hate incidents and racial violence against Black and Asian communities are horrific and have deeply affected many of us in multiple ways. We deeply grieve the loss of innocent Black and Asian lives. It is essential for us to stand together in unity and in solidarity; and to condemn such violent acts of racism and the culture of white supremacy that enables them.
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Founded in 1980, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations to APALA are tax deductible and support our work for library services, programs, scholarships, awards, and grants related to library services benefiting Asian/Pacific Americans and Asian/Pacific American librarians.