Asian Americans grieve, organize in wake of the Atlanta attacks

Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with killing eight people, most of them Asian women, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors.

Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings Tuesday evening.

“I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is that Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long. ... We’ve been raising the red flag,” said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlanta-based Asian American Advocacy Fund, which does political and advocacy work across Georgia.

Many also were outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told them the attack was not racially motivated and claimed that he targeted the spas because of sex addiction. Six of the seven slain women were of Asian descent.

Law enforcement needs “some training understanding what a hate crime is,” said Margaret Huang, president, and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. “This man identified targets owned by Asians.”

The gunman “was very clearly going after a targeted group of people,” Huang said.

She also cringed at the comments of a sheriff’s captain who said of the gunman: “It was a really bad day for him.”

The remark “appeared to be trying to explain and justify” the suspect’s actions, Huang said. “Hopefully it was a misstatement.”

Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker, whose remarks drew outrage, was replaced Thursday as spokesman for the case. The sheriff’s office said it regrets any “heartache” caused by his words and that “they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect.”

It also emerged that a Facebook account tied to Baker promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus last year. The account was deleted Wednesday night.

Mahmood said Asian American business owners in the Atlanta area were already fearful because of incidents like graffiti and break-ins. The shootings will raise that worry to new heights.

“A lot of Asian American business owners in the beauty parlor industry and foodservice — these are often the most visible front-line faces in the community,” Mahmood said.

Her organization is partnering with other groups such as the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer resources in multiple languages, including mental health assistance, self-defense training, and bystander training.