The coronavirus pandemic has placed incredible and disproportionate pressure on marginalized groups. Black and LatinX communities have been more likely to suffer financial and health challenges than white people, and recently there has been a surge of violence directed at people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, including over 3,000 documented hate crimes.
The surge of xenophobic rhetoric against Asian and Pacific Islander people as the pandemic continues has resulted in unforgivable acts of violence and exclusion, including targeting and attacking some of the elderly.
SurveyMonkey's Asian and Pacific Islander (API) employee resource group, Mosaic, joined with a few of our other employee resource groups to issue a joint statement in solidarity against the racism that people from underrepresented backgrounds are facing today.
The Queerious (LGBTQ2+), BUILD (Blacks United in Leadership and Development), and Unidos (LatinX) came together to affirm their commitment to mutual support and growth, issuing 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
