We have all been horrified by the news about the rise in violent attacks against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the past year, including the murder of six Asian American women this week. Excella condemns acts of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against AAPI communities. For our AAPI Excellians, please know your Excella colleagues stand with you.
The following is an email sent from Burton White, Excella Co-founder and CEO, to Excella employees.
March 19, 2021
Excellians,
We have all been horrified by the news about the rise in violent attacks against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the past year, including the murder of six Asian American women this week. Excella condemns acts of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against AAPI communities. For our AAPI Excellians, please know your Excella colleagues stand with you.
While I’m shocked by the recent news, I’m even more disheartened by what it spotlights—a long history of assaults against members of the AAPI community that is widespread and growing. Stop AAPI Hate, a not-for-profit coalition tracking incidents of violence, discrimination, and harassment against the AAPI community reported Tuesday that from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021, Asian Americans from all 50 states reported nearly 3,800 hate-related incidents. Earlier this year, President Biden signed an executive order denouncing anti-Asian discrimination, which provides more context behind this growing problem and directs government action to address it. Excella fully supports this Executive Order.
Like so many of you, this has prompted me to pause and reflect on the gravity of what is happening to the AAPI community. I hope you will do the same if you haven’t already. At times like these, we should also remember the power of our Excella community. We must continue to stand together, support each other, and know that our allyship matters. Please reach out to support your colleagues at this difficult time.
Together, let’s continue to learn about the AAPI community and this problem afflicting it. This is an important part of our commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity. Through the Inclusion Diversity Equity Ambassador (IDEA) Team, we will develop learning events focused on the AAPI community and a SharePoint resource page for you to contribute to and learn from.
If you need to take time to reflect on and process these current events, please remember that any unused Racial Injustice Leave instituted last year has been rolled over to this year. HR is also available with employee assistance program (EAP) information which offers grief counseling among other resources for Excellians. If you prefer to speak with an Excella leader directly, we are all available to talk or just listen.
As always, thank you all for standing together, learning together, and acting together in solidarity to address racial injustice of all kinds. Let’s continue to support and uplift each other and every part of our community.
In solidarity,
Burton