Fordham’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) has issued a statement condemning the recent Anti-Asian violence. For the entire statement and for more information on APALSA, please visit APALSA’s Instagram.
This hate has not arisen in a vacuum. At this moment, it is critical to acknowledge that white supremacy is invested in the use of Asian Pacific Americans as a “wedge minority” in the perpetuation of anti-Blackness. Asian Pacific Americans have been called the “model minority” in an attempt to criticize other BIPOC communities. This has come at the expense of the erasure of the vast diversity in our community (racially, ethnically, and economically) and sadly, has been weaponized to perpetuate anti-Blackness. In the words of the revered legal scholar, Mari Matsuda, Fordham APALSA refuses to be used in service of white supremacy. These violent episodes are not an excuse to perpetuate harmful stereotypes, nor should they be used for simplistic and reductionist calls for more policing.