A Statement on This Country’s Anti-Asian Violence

The Center for Fiction stands with the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities across the United States.

We denounce the ignorance and xenophobia, including false attributions of blame for the pandemic, that have led to the recent horrendous racial targeting and violence.

And we acknowledge the need to work tirelessly toward a more just America, taking to heart the words of Maxine Hong Kingston:

“In a time of destruction, create something.”

The horrific mass shooting this week in Atlanta which resulted in the deaths of eight innocent people, including six Asian women, is a terrible reminder that anti-Asian racism and violence have intensified in the past year as a direct result of xenophobia and misinformation surrounding COVID-19. It is unacceptable and it must end. The Center for Fiction unequivocally denounces racism, bigotry, misogyny, and violence against the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander members of our community.