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So begins an open letter in the Wednesday, March 31, 2021 edition of The Wall Street Journal signed by over 1,000 American-Asian business leaders. Some of the names (or at least their companies) you'll probably recognize: Jerry Yang, Eric Yuan, and Steve Chen, for instance, the co-founder of Yahoo, CEO and founder of Zoom, and co-founder of YouTube, respectively. But there are hundreds more who have made an impact in their fields and communities.
In an email sent to supporters, David Lu, a managing partner at Hyphen Captial and one of the organizers, succinctly put forth the message of "Enough."
"I've said all along that we can no longer be silent," he wrote. "With this statement and the list of [the] incredible names behind it, we will be heard around the world and taken very seriously."
In an effort to make the strongest statement possible, the coalition of business leaders placed this full-page ad, in what they consider the most prominent business publication in the world. The goal? To change how Asian-Americans are viewed in the United States. To stop being considered somehow "less American." To educate and inform so that discrimination and racism against Asian-Americans stops.
And according to the group, the first step is acknowledging the issue and talking about it.
Over the past year, there has been a 150 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Asian-Americans — and disproportionately it has been against Asian women. One of the most recent was a heinous attack against a 65-year-old Asian woman a few blocks from Times Square in New York City.
To fight anti-Asian violence, the business leaders are committed to raising $10 million over the next year through their non-profit partner, the Asian Pacific Fund to support organizations such as Asian-Americans Advancing Justice, which defends those impacted by hate and the Association for Asian American Studies, which conducts research and education on the causes and solutions to Asian racism and other community organizations.
For more information and to donate, visit Stand With Asian Americans.
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