Shartsis Friese LLP Condemns Hate Crimes Against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities

Shartsis Friese is deeply saddened and outraged by the rise of violent hate crimes aimed at the AAPI communities.  In response to recent events, the Shartsis Friese Management Committee sent out the following statement today to our lawyers and staff.

The horrific murders of eight people earlier this week in Atlanta (including 6 Asian women) and an increase in local hate crime attacks are part of a nationwide surge of heartbreaking violence against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.  According to Stop AAPI Hate, in the 12-month period ending on February 28th, there have been over 3,900 reports of verbal/physical attacks against Asian Americans in the United States.  Nearly 70% of those attacks have been against Asian women, and over 700 of them have happened right here in our Bay Area community. 

The Bay Area is our home and Shartsis Friese is a leader in the San Francisco legal, business, academic and philanthropic communities.  To that end, it is our responsibility to acknowledge and confront inequality and hate wherever it exists, and to ensure that historically marginalized communities are viewed as equals in the minds of all Americans and in the eyes of the law.  As part of this commitment, the firm will make a donation to San Francisco-based Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (ALC), which is the nation’s first legal and civil rights organization serving the AAPI communities.  ALC focuses on housing rights, immigration and immigrants’ rights, labor and employment issues, student advocacy, civil rights and hate violence, national security, and criminal justice reform.

As a firm, we all stand together to condemn not only the recent violence against Asian-Americans, but also the discrimination and stereotyping that is devastatingly harmful to Asian American lives.   Our hearts and support go out to the members of the Shartsis AAPI communities. We care deeply about the safety and well-being of you and your families, and we acknowledge that this hate and violence gives rise to fear, anxiety and trauma.   It must end.  To learn more about what we all can do to combat violence and discrimination against the AAPI communities, please see the attached article from Paper Magazine.