This statement was initiated by Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) employees at Dr. Bronner’s along with our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) taskforce.
Reports of anti-Asian hate crimes rose nearly 150% in America’s largest cities last year, reflecting a growing trend of discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders during the Covid-19 pandemic. This week alone, we’ve seen the horrific murder of six Asian-American women in Atlanta, and an attack against two elderly Asian-Americans in San Francisco.
Dr. Bronner’s speaks out categorically against all harassment or victimization of members of our Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. This kind of scapegoating of a particular racial group runs directly counter to our grandfather’s All-One vision and is against everything we practice and promote as a company.
We have unfortunately seen this over and over again in human history: when a nation struggles with problems, its citizens look for a group to blame, a group they can scapegoat or attack—and often that group is one that is already considered to be outsiders, illegitimate, or somehow less deserving. We recognize that many in the U.S. are truly hurting—devastated by the multiple health and economic crises brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. But the healing of this pain will never be found in the oppression of other people.
It is incumbent on all of us to speak up and intervene if we witness this kind of harassment or racism. It is important to report any incidents of hate that you witness—hate can only survive if ignored and swept under the rug but will wither if held up to the light of public examination, reflection, and resistance.
It is also imperative that we speak up against the use of phrases like “China virus” or “Wuhan virus” to describe the Covid-19 pandemic, as that sort of language unfairly casts Asians as responsible for the pandemic and creates the conditions for the kind of racist abuse that has been on the rise.
Truth is, the virus could have arisen anywhere in the world. The last global pandemic, unfairly named the Spanish Flu, seems to have originated in the United States, after which it spread to the rest of the world. And where the virus came from is not important. In our globalized society, we’ve seen how these kinds of diseases can quickly spread from one country to another, and that cooperation and unity is required to battle the disease and keep it under control.
As we speak up against the rise of racism and attacks against the AAPI community, we also seek to root out all forms of racism in our country—and advocate in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Indigenous Peoples, and all marginalized communities fighting for an equitable and just place in society.
To sum up, here is what we’re asking you to do to help counter the rise of hate:
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- Report hate crimes at stopaapihate.org
- Practice bystander intervention
- Refer to this resource list from San Diego API Coalition and Pacific Arts Movement
- Read about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and their role in American life:
Thank you for doing your part to promote and protect everyone’s right to freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.