Be an Ally: ways to support your Asian and Pacific Islander colleagues

One of SurveyMonkey’s key values is to “Stand for Equality.” As a company, we are committed to developing a long-term strategy for furthering racial justice at our organization and in our business community. This week we shared the information below with our entire team on behalf of our Asian and Pacific Islander employee resource group, Mosaic. We’ve decided to share it with broader community in the hope that it helps our customers, partners, and broader community take action.

Recently there have been at least three unprovoked racist attacks on elderly Asian Americans: an 84-year-old Thai grandfather, Vicha Ratanapakdee, was brutally shoved and killed during a morning walk in San Francisco; a 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted in San Jose and robbed of $1,000 that she had withdrawn for Lunar New Year red envelopes; and a 61-year old Filipino American, Noel Quintana, was slashed in the face with a box cutter while riding the subway in New York. In addition, a 30-year-old Filipino man, Angelo Quinto, was murdered by police during a mental health crisis when officers kneeled on his neck for 5 minutes.

These attacks are tragically just a few of many that have gone unreported by large media outlets. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, hate incidents against people of Asian and Pacific Islander (API or sometimes AAPI) descent have been on the rise around the world. 

In the last year, Stop AAPI Hate recorded 3,000+ hate incidents against Asian Americans in the U.S., including physical assault and murder, barring Asians from establishments, and verbal harassment. API immigrants have also faced a centuries-long history of discrimination and violence in the U.S. and beyond. The Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment during WWII, and hateful anti-South Asian bias in the wake of 9/11 are just a few examples of how anti-API racism and discrimination go far beyond one-off attacks.

SurveyMonkey is committed to supporting and advocating for our community during this time and denounces these horrifying events, not just over the past few weeks, but during this pandemic and throughout America’s history. We are in solidarity with the victims, their families, and their communities.

Mosaic also recognizes that some individuals are responding to these events with anti-Blackness. Any act of racial violence against a person of color is unacceptable, and we’re focused on dismantling the racist systems that do harm to all of us. We’ve partnered with SurveyMonkey’s employee resource groups, The Queerious (LGBTQ2+), BUILD (Blacks United in Leadership and Development), and Unidos (LatinX) to build solidarity and reaffirm our commitment to one another. Together, we’ve developed the following statement:

Throughout history, our country and the world have done grave injustices to marginalized communities. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in violence against marginalized communities during the pandemic. As we close out Black History Month and Lunar New Year, our celebrations are met with waves of continued violence and brutality against marginalized communities: LatinX and Black communities, and those who are so often left out of the narrative, such as the LGBTQ2+ population and people with disabilities. SurveyMonkey's employee resource groups (ERG) came together to declare and solidify our commitment to Equality, Equity, and Justice for the rights of us all. 

A key value of SurveyMonkey is to Stand for Equality. In line with this value and on behalf of all our ERGs, we stand in support of all communities that are under attack, and we denounce all hate attacks on any of our members. We wish to especially address the acute pain felt by the Asian and Pacific Islander community as they experience an onslaught of brutally cruel hate attacks, including attacks on the elderly and most vulnerable. These attacks, along with a lack of awareness and empathy, are a symptom of systemic injustice from white supremacy that impact all marginalized communities. Please stand with us in our fight for Equality, Equity, and Justice!

-Mosaic, The Queerious, BUILD, Unidos

The call to action to allow for healing and avidly lobby for change is now. To join us and share your support, we ask you to learn more about what’s happening and take the next step toward collective action with your words, actions, and donation dollars.  

Lead with compassion: Resources to help you hold emotional space and compassion for your colleagues—especially people of color, whose communities are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic

Learn: Websites, writers, and thought leaders to read and follow for continued awareness and education

Donate: Support these worthy causes fighting for racial equity for the Asian and Pacific Islander community Asian Americans Advancing Justice