This statement was issued the Guild Executive Board, AFSCME Local 2910, on April 6, 2021.
In response to the shocking events of recent weeks, the Guild adds its voice to those calling for an end to the racism, xenophobia and targeted violence aimed at Asian individuals and communities in the United States. Anti-Asian hate speech and violent crimes have seen a staggering surge since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. Such deplorable acts deteriorate the fabric of our society in already difficult times. The deaths of Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan and Daoyou Feng, murdered at two spas in Atlanta, along with a string of violent attacks on persons of Asian descent across the country, are alarming examples of a hatred taken root in American society that must be soundly denounced and tenaciously eradicated.
The Guild, AFSCME Local 2910, as exclusive representatives of the professional staff of the Library of Congress, upholds the values of equality, tolerance, and respect. Our members care deeply about diversity and inclusion in our workplace and in the larger society that our cultural institution both supports and represents. Targeted violence is the bleeding edge of a more persistent and deeply-rooted monoculturalism that stigmatizes difference, and that creates a chilling effect for the experience of minority group members. We must continue to combat the insidiousness of chilling environments in our own workplace and communities, in addition to the hate speech and overtly violent acts, to achieve something like real equality. In word and in practice, the Guild affirms that hatred and bigotry can have no place in our workplace, our society, or our world.
We offer our solidarity to our colleagues of Asian descent in this difficult time. We stand in solidarity, too, with our colleagues in libraries and cultural institutions across the U.S. as we continue the collective dialogue confronting racism, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms. The Library of Congress stands as a deep and comprehensive aggregation of this world’s diversity of knowledge. Hated has no place at the Library of Congress, or in the multifaceted country that its employees proudly serve.
Guild (AFSCME 2910) Executive Board, April 6, 2021
www.guild2910.org
