Resources
The UA Counseling Center provides a variety of resources on multicultural mental health. The center offers a virtual drop-in support group, AAPI & Allies, on Tuesdays at noon and Thursdays at 3 p.m. If you are interested in participating in this group, please call the front desk and leave your name and CWID or submit your request through the link on the support group page. You will receive a zoom link shortly before the group starts.
For more information on the impact of racism and discrimination for our Asian American/Pacific Islander community as well as resources for support, please visit the Counseling Center’s Asian American Mental Health Resources page.
The center also offers information on self-care and coping, confronting racism, learning opportunities and more.
Asian American Psychological Association
The AAPA’s mission is to advance the mental health and well-being of Asian American communities through research, professional practice, education and policy. The organization also issues statements against all forms of hate and racism.
Learning for Justice.org
This website provides free resources to educators to supplement their curriculum, inform their practices and create inclusive school communities. Founded by the Southern Poverty Law Center under the name Teaching Tolerance in 1991, Learning for Justice was originally created to prevent the growth of hate by reducing prejudice. In 2021, the organization changed its name to better reflect its mission of justice for all. Learning for Justice offers the following articles to help educators navigate and fight anti-Asian hate and bias:
- After Atlanta: Teaching About Asian American Identity and History
- We Still Haven’t Learned From This
- Behind the Shield
Stop AAPI Hate.org
The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center was launched in March 2020 in response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Founding organizations are the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University.
DiversityInc.com
A new study reports that 8 in 10 Asian Americans believe they are regularly discriminated against in the United States.
Campus Allies
During and after the #StopAsianHate Vigil held in April 2021, several members of the UA campus community expressed their support of the Asian/Asian American community.
UA Condemns Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Our hearts are broken as we consider the horrific shootings in Atlanta this week resulting in the deaths of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. While there is ongoing discussion and debate about the motivations for these heinous acts against humanity, what is not debatable is the dramatic increase in the number of racially motivated bias incidents and hate crimes targeting Asian and Asian-American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI for short, people in our country since the onset of the pandemic.
At this tragic moment in our nation’s history, we are reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words as he wrote from the Birmingham jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
As a campus community we denounce these acts of violence, and we acknowledge the pain associated with being targeted because of your appearance.
We have a commitment to justice for all and establishing and sustaining a culture of inclusivity is a core value of our institution. As such, we stand today in solidarity as allies with our AAPI community members. As we support them, we also stand in opposition to all hate crimes, bias acts against the AAPI community at large and the ideology that fuels them.
During these traumatic times we want to provide a series of resources to assist members of our community as we attempt to work through the impact of these senseless acts. Please refer to the AAPI Community and Ally Resources page on our DEI website as guidance for our community.
Sincerely,
Dr. G. Christine Taylor
Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Dr. Teresa Wise
Associate Provost for International Education and Global Outreach
#StopAsianHate Vigil: A Call to Action
Thursday, April 1
6 p.m., Foster Auditorium
The UA campus and Tuscaloosa community are invited to this vigil to remember the victims of the recent Atlanta shootings, where eight people were killed including six Asian American women and one other person was wounded. The event also acknowledges the dramatic increase in bias and hate crimes against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and serves as a call to action against anti-Asian hate crimes.
Building an inclusive community requires all of us to be engaged. We encourage participants to think about what they can do to make our campus more inclusive. People who want to share their pledge to end hate crimes and bias incidents are asked to submit their commitment statement to diversity@ua.edu. The comments may be shared on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website.
Sponsors for this event include: Chinese Faculty and Staff Association, Korean Faculty and Staff Association, Asian American Student Association, Chinese Student Association, Korean Student Association, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and UA Athletics.
Those who plan to attend are asked to sign up via Eventbrite.
Face coverings and social distancing are required per UA policy.
In addition to the vigil, webinars that focus on addressing anti-Asian hate and bias will be held via Zoom in April. More information will be available on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website.
News Coverage of the Vigil
The Crimson White: #StopAsianHate Vigil remembers victims of Atlanta Shooting
WVUA-TV 23: “Stop Asian Hate” vigil held at UA