{"id":10685,"date":"2017-01-24T16:16:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racefiles.com\/?p=10685"},"modified":"2020-12-16T17:06:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T01:06:53","slug":"100-asian-american-pacific-islander-organizations-pledge-to-resist-repression-under-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racefiles.com\/2017\/01\/24\/100-asian-american-pacific-islander-organizations-pledge-to-resist-repression-under-trump-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"100+ Asian American & Pacific Islander Organizations Pledge to Resist Repression Under Trump Administration"},"content":{"rendered":"
Credit: Reader-submitted photos from the Women’s March on Washington and satellite marches across the United States, at http:\/\/blog.angryasianman.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, We Will Resist<\/b><\/p>\n

We stand at a critical juncture in world history. The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States represents a direct threat to millions of people\u2019s safety and to the health of the planet. As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) committed to equality, inclusion, and justice, we pledge to resist any efforts by President-Elect Trump\u2019s administration to target and exploit communities, to strip people of their fundamental rights and access to essential services, and to use rhetoric and policies that divide the American people and endanger the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Trump\u2019s campaign used explicit racial appeals to win the support of disaffected white voters, promising to restore their economic and social standing by deporting millions of immigrants, building a wall, creating a Muslim registry, banning Muslim immigration, and punishing Black dissent. He also engaged in deeply misogynistic language and behavior throughout his campaign. He insulted all people of color; people with disabilities; and women \u2013 all of whom amount to the majority of America. In the global arena, he has signaled at a new nuclear arms race, promised to expand the use of torture, and disparaged the United Nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since his election, Mr. Trump has chosen known white nationalists, corporate moguls, religious zealots, climate deniers, hawkish ex-generals, anti-Islam spokespersons, and anti-government crusaders to serve in his Administration. Right-wing extremists now dominate his party, which will control all three branches of the federal government and the majority of state legislatures, and are positioned to jeopardize the future of the Supreme Court for the next generation and beyond. Together this new realignment of forces seeks to turn back the clock on civil rights and environmental protections, to maximize corporate profits by privatizing the public sector, and to create a racially and culturally exclusive America.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not business as usual, and we will not engage in business-as-usual tactics and strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

As AAPIs, our lives are rooted in the long arc of U.S. history, which was born out of racial violence and has been shaped by the struggles for freedom of oppressed peoples domestically and internationally. Some of our ancestors first arrived in what is now the United States as subjects of European empire over 400 years ago. Some of us are indigenous to this country as our ancestors’ lands were occupied and colonized by the United States as they sought to expand their global military and economic power. In the centuries since, AAPIs have faced indentured servitude, exclusionary immigration laws, bars to citizenship and land ownership, mass deportation, mass incarceration, war, sexual and gender-based violence, forced displacement, vigilante violence, surveillance, and racial and religious profiling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today our movements include Southeast Asian refugees organizing to end criminalization and deportation; Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs and South Asians fighting surveillance, profiling, war, and hate violence; women reclaiming their bodies against trafficking, domestic violence, exploitation, and criminalization; low-wage workers standing up against wage theft, poor working conditions, and abusive employers; Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders building a generation to fight against generational poverty caused by loss of sovereignty, militarization of lands and people, forced displacement, and criminalization; and trans, gender-non-conforming, and queer people putting their bodies on the line to demand a different, more humane world. We have always fought injustice, and we are resolute to continue doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n

The majority of AAPI voters rejected Mr. Trump\u2019s candidacy. Indeed, while Mr. Trump won the Electoral College \u2013 a problematic system with its own deep history rooted in slavery and racial inequities \u2013 he lost the popular vote. \u00a0And with only 58% of eligible voters casting ballots in this election, the vast majority of American voters did not vote to elect Mr. Trump. He and his Administration have no mandate to govern.<\/span><\/p>\n

For all of these reasons, we commit to the following principles and ask all AAPIs to join us:<\/span><\/p>\n